Indonesian, 4 Chinese missing

Indonesian, 4 Chinese missing

JAPAN: Four Chinese men and an Indonesian were missing on Thursday after their ship capsized off a southern Japanese island, while all 23 other crew members were rescued, the coast guard said.

The 23 survivors -- South Korean skipper Ha Ho-don, 57, 16 Chinese and six Indonesians -- said there had been 28 crew on board the wrecked ship.

Patrol boats rescued the men drifting off on two rafts, after the coast guard received the first distress signal from off Fukuejima Island, 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) southwest of Tokyo, at 1:11 a.m.

The 73-tonne Belize-registered boat, Sol Fresh No. 606, left the South Korean port of Busan on Tuesday to fish for tuna in Pacific waters off Solomon Islands. It capsized off Fukuejima late Wednesday due to rough weather, the Japanese coast guard said. --AFP