China-Russia Tension Over Cargo Ship Sinking
China calls on Russia to explain Chinese cargo ship sinking.
BEIJING, Feb 19, 2009 — -- China asked Russia on Thursday to explain how a Chinese cargo ship sank in Russian waters after reports it was fired on by the Russian military.
Seven Chinese sailors were missing after the "New Star" sank on Saturday in stormy seas off Vladivostok and after a Russian warship shot at least 500 rounds into it, the official China Daily newspaper said, quoting a Chinese-language paper which in turn quoted a Russian newspaper.
The "New Star" was held at the Russian port of Nakhodka earlier this month, suspected of involvement in smuggling. It left without permission last week, the China Daily said.
"China has made representations to the Russian side. We hope they continue with the search and rescue operations for the missing sailors and clarify the reason (for the incident) as soon as possible," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a news conference.
China says three Chinese crew members were rescued and seven are missing.
Russia's authoritative Kommersant business daily wrote on Thursday the ship's crew consisted of 10 Chinese nationals and six Indonesians, including the captain.
"Eight sailors, including the captain, who were on a closed raft, were lifted on board one of the patrol ships within 30minutes," Kommersant wrote, quoting Andrei Samarkin, a chief investigator familiar with the case.
He said eight other sailors on an open raft were doomed.
"Due to extremely severe weather conditions, there was no chance whatsoever of helping those on an open raft," he said. "These sailors did not wear wetsuits, and when they were washed off into the sea they quickly received lethal hypothermia."
Warning
Kommersant quoted a statement by Russian border guards blaming the captain of the ship for the deaths of his sailors.
"(He) did not take all necessary measures to fight for the survivability of his ship," the border guards said.
In video footage of the incident broadcast on Russian television, gunfire could be heard. Authorities said the shipwas given adequate warning.
Related Stories
ABC News Live