Rescuers have recovered the bodies of 12 Chinese people who went missing, after their fishing vessel collided with an oil tanker, off Japan, on Thursday morning, according to local media.
The Chinese fishing boat was carrying 16 crew members onboard, when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered tanker ‘Blight Oil’ and capsized, 400 kilometers north of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan.
Following collision, the four remaining crew members were picked up by other fishing vessels that were nearby, but one of them also died some time later, sources say.
At the time of the incident, 21 people were onboard the tanker, all of whom are reported to be safe.
The Japanese coastguard deployed three ships and divers for search and rescue operations.