13 missing off Japan after cargo ship, fishing boat collide

More than a dozen crew members of a cargo ship are missing after it collided with a fishing boat in waters off northern Japan, a coast guard official said Sunday.

The 1,989-ton Belize-hailed load transport Guoxing 1 was conveying around 3,000 tons of iron piece and quickly took in water after the hit, Japan Coast Guard representative Tomoyuki Hanzawa told AFP.

The crash between the Guoxing 1 and a 138-ton Japanese angling pontoon occurred around 10 pm (1300) GMT Saturday and the reason is obscure, he included.

The Guoxing 1 had a team of 14 Chinese and Vietnamese nationals, of which 13 are as yet absent, and the coast watch is scanning for them, Hanzawa said.

One Vietnamese group part was protected by close-by transport, while the 15 Japanese team individuals from the angling vessel are sheltered.