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Japan’s coast guard said Wednesday, September 2, one person was found during a search for a cargo ship with 43 people on board after receiving a distress call from the East China Sea during a typhoon.
The crew reportedly includes 39 Filipinos, two New Zealanders, an Australian, and a Singaporean.
An alarm signal was received in the early hours from a vessel around 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of Japan’s Amami Oshima island, the coast guard said.
It said it believed the call for help had been sent by a ship called Gulf Livestock 1, on its way to the Chinese port of Tangshan from Napier in New Zealand.
“We were informed by the defense ministry that a person wearing a life jacket was found” in the sea where the ship went missing, a coast guard official told AFP.
The person, whose identity and condition is unclear, was found by a patrol plane sent by the defence ministry.
A rubber boat was also spotted from the plane, but the coast guard official said they have not confirmed if it belonged to the ship.
Four coast guard vessels and several planes were involved in the search-and-rescue operation.
One of the vessels arrived in the area more than 10 hours from the distress call and 3 were still heading there in stormy conditions.
The coast guard said it had not detected any additional signals.
On Thursday, September 3, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said so far, only one of the 39 Filipinos was reported to be rescued by the Japanese Coast Guard.
The DFA said the Philippine consulate general in Osaka was monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Japan Coast Guard, which launched a second search and rescue mission.
The agency is likewise coordinating with Korpil Ship Management and Manning Corporation as well as the Filipinos’ local manning agency.
The distress call came as strong winds and heavy rain lashed the area overnight with the passage of Typhoon Maysak.
Local media also said the ship was carrying 5,800 cows. – Rappler.com
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