Global Courant 2023-05-23 16:57:00
BEIJING – China has scaled back its rescue operation for missing crew members from a capsized fishing vessel after it concluded there were very few air bubbles left to keep any trapped survivors alive, state media said on Tuesday.
Seven bodies were recovered from the fishing vessel, the Lupeng Yuanyu 028, after it capsized in a central part of the Indian Ocean last week with a crew of 39 on board, state media said.
The transport and agriculture ministries, along with authorities in eastern Shandong province, have reduced the effort to a 48-hour small-scale investigation of a major maritime search and rescue effort, CCTV said, citing the transport ministry.
The seven ships operating at the magnitude of the disaster were down from 13 a day earlier.
The wrecked hull slowly drifted to the northeast, the broadcaster added.
Sri Lankan divers found and recovered human remains in the ship’s cabin, CCTV said.
But it was not immediately clear which of the crew was found among those originally on board, who consisted of 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos.
An analysis of the various factors involved in the disaster showed extremely limited air pockets in the wreckage to allow people to survive, leading to a preliminary finding that there were no survivors, CCTV said, citing the transport ministry. REUTERS
