1 dead, 12 still missing in ship that sank off Oman

One of the 23 crewmen of South Korean freighter “Orchid Sun" that sank in the waters off Oman early Thursday has died while six of the 10 rescued have serious injuries, a newspaper in Seoul reported Friday. Thirteen of the ship's crew are Filipinos. Quoting a statement issued Thursday by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Korea Times said 12 of the 23 sailors are still missing, including four Koreans. Earlier reports said that of the 23 sailors aboard the 26,000-ton cargo ship, eight are South Koreans, 13 Filipinos and two Chileans. Four Filipinos and two Chileans were among those rescued by nearby ships and rescue helicopters sent from Oman, the South Korean foreign ministry said. Reports on the figures of the rescued and missing crew members have been confusing though. On Thursday night, Korea Times said the crewmen saved included three Koreans, six Filipinos, two Chileans and one unidentified man, leaving 11 persons missing. Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that one Korean sailor was rescued by a Japanese military ship. The United States Navy said the Japanese Maritime Self Defense ship Suzunami and the Pakistani ship Tippu Sultan helped rescue the sailors as the ship was sinking. The Suzunami launched a helicopter and rescued one crew member from the water and took him to the ship. A commercial motor vessel on the scene rescued seven crew members, the US navy said on Thursday. "Our forces are always ready to assist mariners in distress," said Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, US commander of maritime forces in Bahrain. The Korea Times report said the fatality has yet to be identified because the body fell while being lifted by a helicopter on the scene. The newspaper’s online report identified the missing South Koreans as captain Jeon Sang-ik, 38; third grade navigator Choi Kyu-in, 24; chief engineer Lee Byeong-hwa, 54; and first engineer Hyun Gwan-su, 36. The crew jumped out of the ship right after sending an SOS, reports said. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has yet to receive an official report on the accident that happened early Thursday at the Arabian Sea about 150 kilometers east of Oman. “We have already requested our post in Oman to check on this," said Claro Cristobal, DFA spokesman, before noon Friday. “Shortly, we may have some preliminary information on this." Cristobal said the DFA has been trying to verify the information from various sources before issuing an official statement on the accident. “We have been following the developments but we are trying to get corroboration from other sources." A South Korean foreign ministry official was quoted to have voiced optimism that the missing crewmen would soon be rescued. The naval forces from the United States, Oman, Japan and Pakistan have jointly launched rescue operations in the vicinity of the accident. The South Korean ship was sailing to Iran from Hsinkan, China carrying 42,000 tons of steel products. It reportedly sank after its hold began rapidly taking in water. Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the rescued sailors were being transported by ship “because of no answer from the Air Force although the Korean embassy there requested the Omani government to send a transport helicopter to carry them to a nearby hospital." "Consequently, the rescued were expected to arrive at the Muscat Port of Oman at 3 a.m. Friday (KST), six hours later than expected," Yonhap’s report said, quoting an embassy official, adding that the embassy was ready to transport the rescued but injured sailors in an ambulance to a nearby hospital upon arrival at the port. - GMANews.TV, with wire reports