The ship “Gulf Livestock 1” was transporting 5,800 cows from New Zealand to a Chinese port when it was hit by a storm caused by typhoon Maysak in the East China Sea.
Two days after the wreck, the Japanese Coast Guard confirmed on Friday that it had found a second survivor in the ocean: a 30-year-old Filipino citizen aboard a small inflatable boat.
It was found near Kodakarajima, a tiny island in southwestern Japan. The man is well, according to the Coast Guard. Another crew member was found unconscious a few hours earlier, but died later.
So far only one man had been found alive: a 45-year-old Filipino officer, who was floating in the sea, wearing a life jacket.
The rest of the crew (which in total consisted of 39 Filipinos, two Australians and two New Zealanders) remain missing.
According to the testimony of the rescued Filipino, the freighter sank in the early hours of Wednesday, the 2nd, when he was hit by a strong wave when one of the engines stopped running. The vessel, which was 185 kilometers from the Japanese island Amami Oshima, issued a distress call.
According to a 2019 report by Australian authorities, “Gulf Livestock 1” had an engine failure last year that left it paralyzed at sea for 25 hours.
The New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries announced on Thursday that it will temporarily suspend exports of live cattle while the wreck is being investigated.
Typhoon approaches and may compel to stop searching for survivors
Fredelyne Sanchez, sister of the Philippine captain of the ship that remains missing, told AFP that the brother had sent several messages to his girlfriend before the tragedy, explaining that the crew was unable to get one of the engines to run.
“The waves grew and water started to enter the ship,” said Sanchez, explaining that the captain sent photographs of the flooded engine room.
Survival search operations continue this Friday with the help of four Coast Guard vessels, a Defense Ministry plane and divers specializing in rescue operations.
On Wednesday, an inflatable boat was seen from an airplane, but no team was able to locate it. The Coast Guard said today that it found a life jacket and a dead cow at sea.
Typhoon Haishen’s approach threatens to halt search for survivors. Coming from the south, the typhoon must pass through the Japanese islands in the Okinawa region and proceed to the great island of Kyushu (southwest of the country) between Saturday and Monday.
The government issued a warning to residents of the affected regions, asking them to move quickly to the designated refuges and to follow the recommendations of local authorities.
“In an area likely to be affected by the typhoon, we fear record rains, storms, high waves and floods,” said government spokesman Yoshihide Suga.
Several dams in western Japan have started releasing water as a precaution in cases of heavy rain, and an early warning system has been activated for the population, added Suga.
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