Tokyo
CNN
,
Five crew members have been rescued and efforts are underway to save 17 others after a cargo ship capsized off Japan’s Nagasaki prefecture on Wednesday, the Japan Coast Guard told CNN.
The coast guard said it received a distress signal from the Hong Kong-flagged vessel Jin Tian late on Tuesday night as it cruised 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of the Danjo Islands in the East China Sea.
The crew – 14 Chinese and eight Myanmar nationals – is believed to have been transferred to lifeboats before rough seas impacted their rescue, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The coast guard has dispatched two patrol boats to the scene, while three private vessels, including a tanker, that were cruising nearby are involved in the rescue operation, it added.
The coast guard said the ship had been expected to reach the port of Incheon, South Korea, on Wednesday. It left Malaysia’s Port Klang in early December, according to tracking site MarineTraffic.
