On the sunken trawler were Ukrainians, Russians and Latvians

In the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, 300 km from Magadan, the autonomous freezer trawler “Far East” sank on Thursday night. According to the latest data, 56 people died as a result of the crash.

In total, there were 132 people aboard, including 78 Russians, four Ukrainians, five citizens of Vanuatu, three Latvians and 42 citizens of Burma. It was possible to save 63 man, the fate of another 13 man remains unknown.

According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, the most likely version of the vessel’s sinking is a collision with an obstacle.

The water temperature in the disaster area is zero degrees. As reported by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, the rescued trawler crew members suffered severe hypothermia, many are in serious condition.

“All the sailors spent quite a long time in water, the temperature of which in the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk does not exceed zero degrees. They suffered severe hypothermia. One person is known to be in a very serious condition,” Interfax quotes a department representative.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations also reported that the Mi-8 helicopter flying to the site of the tragedy to evacuate the victims, because of the strong wind, was forced to refuel to Magadan.

In Sakhalin, in connection with the crash of the trawler, an operational headquarters was created, which was headed by Oleg Kozhemyako, the acting governor of the region.

The Magellan company, which is the owner of the sunken trawler, said it would provide assistance to the families of the dead and injured.

The trawler "Far East" is assigned to the Sakhalin port of Nevelsk. Most of the Russian crew members are residents of the Primorsky Territory.

Rafts found

The rescue operation involved more than a thousand people and 26 vessels. It was decided to continue the search at night.

It was reported that two liferafts were found in 105 km northeast of the shipwreck, but they were empty.

The Russian floating base Vsevolod Sibirtsev, which has a hospital on board, was sent to the disaster area.

Rescuers are now evacuating survivors, 10 of whom were reported unconscious, to the Sakhalin ship Andromeda.

An EMERCOM spokesperson told Interfax that the seven most affected sailors are scheduled to be evacuated by the Mi-8 helicopter, which is still in Magadan.

“The helicopter will be able to evacuate the victims only on Friday morning. Now it’s getting dark in the search area,” the agency quotes a representative of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Russian media report that the bodies of those killed in the crash will be delivered by the Andromeda ship to the Sakhalin port of Korsakov, a journey that will take about three days. After this, identification will begin.

The authorities of the region also announced their intention to declare mourning in memory of those killed in the crash.

No SOS signal

It is reported that the Far East did not send an SOS signal before the crash.

“According to preliminary data, the trawler sank very quickly, the crew did not have time to transmit a request for rescue,” a representative of the regional department of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations told the Interfax agency.

The causes of the disaster are not yet known. It is reported that the ship sank due to water entering the engine room. The Kamchatka Department of the Emergencies Ministry believes that the cause of the incident could be difficult ice conditions.

As a source at the operational headquarters for eliminating the consequences of the shipwreck told Interfax, “the main version of what happened is currently considered to be the excessive impact of ice on the ship’s hull, which led to deformation followed by partial destruction of the hull.”

Interfax interlocutor also did not rule out that the crew could violate safety regulations, exceeding the allowable storage of cargo or incorrectly placing it in the holds of the vessel.

According to another version, the vessel overturned at the moment of lifting to the upper deck of a multi-tonne seine with fish.

The Far Eastern Transport Investigation Department opened a criminal case under the article “violation of traffic safety rules and operation of maritime transport, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence.”

The investigation into the circumstances of the crash of the trawler was taken over by the leadership of the Investigative Committee of Russia, a spokesman for the department Vladimir Markin said. According to him, the most probable version of the flooding of a trawler in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is a collision with an obstacle.