ALBAWABA - A South Korean-flagged chemicals tanker carrying 11 people collapsed in strong seas off Japan on Wednesday, leaving five people missing, according to the Japanese Coast Guard.
So far, six members of the crew, including two South Koreans, eight Indonesians, and one Chinese, have been rescued, and the coastguard is "still searching for the remaining five," according to a spokesman, who wished to remain unidentified.
The crew notified the coastguard early on Wednesday that the vessel was tilting and requested help near the island of Mutsure, off Japan's southwestern coast, NHK said.
The ship was "carrying acrylic acid, but there is no information yet on whether that has leaked into the ocean," he said. He stated that he was unaware of the situation of the tanker crew members who were rescued and rushed to the hospital.
Footage from Japanese broadcaster NHK showed the overturned red hull of the ship as well as a life raft, as a coastguard ship pounded through heavy waves and a helicopter flew overhead.
The Japan Coast Guard got a rescue call shortly after 7:00 a.m., stating that the ship was "tilting, please help us," according to a spokesman.
According to NHK, the vessel has been identified as the Keoyoung Sun, which citing specialist website vesselfinder.com is a chemical and oil product tanker built in 1996 and measures 69 metres (226 ft) in length.
