YANTAI, Shandong Province, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese rescuers have
recovered a second body, confirmed to be the captain
of the Republic of Korea (ROK) ship that sank off the east China coast ten days ago after a collision with a container ship.
The body was found at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the captain''s office on the second floor of the vessel, said an official with the
rescue and salvage bureau under China''s Ministry of Communications.
Divers also found another body in the ship but they failed to retrieve it due to rapids and technical difficulties, said the source, who has not identified this body and the one
recovered on Monday evening.
On Monday evening, Chinese divers recovered the first body of a crew member. They found a third life raft tied to the left side of the ship and two damaged life boats on both sides of the ship. But no automatic alarms that can send SOS signals when in danger were found.
By Tuesday evening, Chinese rescuers had found three bodies of the 16 crew members of the ROK ship, but only managed to salvage two of them.
The ROK ship, "Golden Rose", which was loaded with 5,900 tons of steel, sank around 3:00 a.m. last Saturday off the coast of Yantai after it crashed in heavy fog with the "Jinsheng", a freighter operated by Shandong Lufeng Shipping Company Ltd. The Jinsheng is registered in Saint Vincent.
The crew of the "Jinsheng" told investigators it had contacts with "Golden Rose" at 9 a.m. last Saturday, but it is still not known why both parties failed to inform the maritime authorities, according to the investigation team from the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center, who are at present looking into it.
Of the 16 sailors from the "Golden Rose," eight are ROK nationals, seven from Myanmar and one from Indonesia, according to figures from the Ministry of Communications.
More than 300 Chinese ships and three airplanes, as well as 30 experienced divers and a diving vessel, have taken part in the search for the missing sailors.
The divers have made 18 attempts to enter the wheelhouse and cabins over the past three days.
China has invited the ROK to send its own rescue boats and coast guard vessels. Last Thursday morning, 22 relatives of the missing ROK sailors and 19 ROK officials and reporters paid a visit to the area where the collision took place.
China''s Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Communications and Shandong''s provincial government are coordinating the search-and-rescue effort.