In this photo released by the Ulsan coast guard, a member of the Ulsan coast guard searches for possible survivors near the Cambodian-flagged cargo ship Alexandra following a collision with an unidentified vessel in waters off South Korea's southeastern port of Ulsan, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. South Korea's coast guard said the cargo ship later sunk, adding a Russian sailor was rescued immediately after the accident, four bodies were found and seven other sailors went missing
South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries expressed regret Thursday over the sinking of a Cambodian-flagged freighter that left four Russian sailors dead and seven missing.
The vessel, flying the Cambodian flag, wrecked on Wednesday, after a collision with a Hyundai-built container ship, suppose experts of the Coast Guard of the Republic of Korea. According to them, only one person from the Alexandra’s 12-strong crew, has been saved, four perished, seven are considered missing.
Korean rescuers found two rafts at the wreck site. A sailor was on one of the rafts, while the other one was empty. According to the Far Eastern regional organisation of the Russian Seafarers’ Union, the sailor is 33-year-old Ruslan Drichev, resident of Primorye. Four bodies have been found and identified. There were 12 crewmen on board the Alexandra.
Ship was en-route from Japan to China
On January 9, the Alexandra motor ship with a cargo of timber left Nakhodka port for Japan. From Japan the vessel headed for China. The incident with the dry cargo ship occurred 16 miles from the South Korean port of Ulsan. According to preliminary reports, the crew consisted of sailors from Russia’s Far East, the ship was controlled by a company operator from Khabarovsk. The motor ship was built in 1984, her deadweight is 2,150 tonnes, the Far Eastern Regional Organisation of the Russian Seafarers's Union reported.
A Hyundai-built container ship collided with the freighter Wednesday while it was undergoing tests off the shipyard in the southeastern port of Ulsan.
"The cause of the accident is being investigated by authorities, but we first of all express sincere regret at human losses," Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder, said in a statement.
The 1,500-ton Alexandra with 12 Russian crew on board was torn apart and sank off Ulsan. Coastguard ships rescued one crew member and recovered four bodies.
The coastguard said seven others are still missing despite an overnight search involving six ships and two helicopters.
Yonhap news agency said the South Korean captain of the 88,000-ton container ship was held by coastguard officials for questioning.