By RIA Novosti,
Kiev : Rescue workers have located the last two bodies on board a Ukrainian tugboat that sank off Hong Kong on March 22, Ukraine’s TV Channel Five said on Tuesday.
A total of 15 sailors were listed as missing after the Naftogaz-67 tugboat sank in the South China Sea after colliding with a Chinese vessel. Out of the 25 sailors on board, most of them Ukrainians, only seven were plucked to safety in the subsequent rescue operation. The bodies of three sailors were also found by divers during the operation.
The bodies of the final two sailors will be removed from the tugboat when all the water has been pumped out of the vessel.
The ship was brought to the surface on April 27. Now that all the bodies have been located, a decision is to be taken shortly as to whether the hole in the bow of Naftogaz-67 can be sealed and how the vessel can be brought to land.
The Ukrainian vessel was last checked by inspectors in south China in October 2007, when six safety violations, including navigational, were detected. Oil leaks and power and support system failures were also noted.
The owner of the tugboat, Anatoliy Prisyazhnyuk, blamed the Chinese dry cargo ship for the fatal collision. The Chinese vessel suffered minor bow damage and remained afloat after the accident.