The Japanese Coast Guard said Thursday it was searching for a cargo ship that went missing in the East China Sea after rescuing one of 43 crew believed to have been on board the vessel when a typhoon hit.
The rescued crewman, a 45-year-old Filipino, was picked up Wednesday night by a Coast Guard patrol boat while bobbing in the water hours after the Gulf Livestock 1 sent out a distress signal, officials said.
Yuichiro Higashi, a spokesman for the Coast Guard, said Thursday the man was able to walk and was hospitalized and the Coast Guard would continue to search for the rest of his crew and the vessel.
The man reported to the Coast Guard that the ship’s engines failed while it was being battered by waves amid tumultuous seas as Typhoon Maysak barrelled through the region.
Maysak made landfall along the southern coast of South Korea on Thursday as the strongest typhoon of the season with sustained winds of 110 mph. As it passed South Korea’s southern island of Jeju on Wednesday night, streets flooded and thousands of homes lost power.
New Zealand’s foreign ministry said the 11,947-ton cargo ship transporting some 6,000 head of cattle had departed New Zealand on Aug. 14 for a 17-day journey to China.
Most of the crew are believed to be Filipino, while New Zealand’s foreign ministry confirmed two New Zealanders were among the crew.
