Six Chinese nationals are among the eight persons who have died after a ship sank off the coast of Japan.
Tokyo: Six Chinese nationals are among the eight persons who have died after a ship sank off the coast of Japan, a Chinese diplomat told state media on Thursday.
On Tuesday evening, the Jin Tian, which was located in the far southwest of Japan, 110 kilometres (68 miles) west of the isolated and desolate Danjo Islands, sent out a distress signal.
13 crew members were retrieved after extensive search efforts involving numerous ships and aircraft from the coast guard and military of Japan, as well as the coast guard and private ships of South Korea.
According to Lu Guijun, the consul general of China in Fukuoka, of the 13 people found, “eight have been confirmed dead, of which six are Chinese.”
“Five of them, including four Chinese crew members, are out of danger,” he added.
“We express our deepest condolences to the unfortunate victims.”
Japanese authorities have not yet confirmed the toll given by the Chinese diplomat, telling AFP Thursday they could only say that nine people remain missing and that, of the 13 retrieved, two are dead.
