Four sailors still missing from capsized freighter off Taiwan's coast

Taipei: Four sailors from a cargo ship that sank off the coast of Taiwan during Typhoon Gaemi were still missing on Friday, authorities said, after fi...

Taipei: Four sailors from a cargo ship that sank off the coast of Taiwan during Typhoon Gaemi were still missing on Friday, authorities said, after finding a fourth survivor as well as the body of the freighter's captain.

Stormy weather in the wake of the typhoon sank the Tanzania-flagged vessel Fu-Shun about 35 kilometres (22 miles) from shore, with its nine crew members from Myanmar abandoning ship wearing life jackets, authorities said Thursday.

Rescue efforts were hindered by terrible weather conditions, but by evening, three crew members were found on land, prompting rescue workers to expand their search in case the remaining six had managed to reach the shores of southern Kaohsiung.

On Friday, the Ocean Affairs Council said in a statement that a fourth survivor was found, while "a body was found on the beach" in Kaohsiung city.

The other surviving sailors identified the dead man "as the captain of Fu-Shun. Four crew members of the ship are still missing," the council said, adding the search was ongoing.