24 fishermen rescued from sinking ship in rough seas

The fishing boat lost power and drifted onto rocks. Pic/AP

A Japanese coast guard helicopter rescued 24 fishermen as they desperately clung to the deck of a tilting , half-submerged ship being pounded by high waves Monday morning off an island chain southwest of Tokyo.

One crewmember thrown from the rocking ship into the rough seas before the arrival of the rescuers was found dead. The Fukuei Maru No. 8 stalled due to an engine failure Sunday evening in the Pacific Ocean, about five hours after it departed the Yaizu Port in central Japan en route to South America for tuna fishing, according to the coast guard.

It apparently drifted in the rough seas and was blown by the strong wind, and the captain sent a distress signal about five hours later, saying his ship hit the rocks, the coast guard said. It said that within two hours of the rescuers' arrival at the scene, the ship reported to them that one crew was missing. The ship carried 20 Indonesian crewmembers and five Japanese, including its captain, the coast guard said. The body of the ship's 67-year-old first engineer was found washed ashore.

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