NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 02:28
A cargo ship has capsized off the coast of the Japanese city of Nagasaki. At least 18 people on board are in distress at sea, the coast guard has gone out with three ships to rescue them. A Coast Guard helicopter was also used in the rescue operation.
Four people on board could already be rescued from the water: they were helped by a ship that happened to be nearby.
A total of 22 people from China and Malaysia were on board. According to the Coast Guard, they were able to get into lifeboats in time. A cargo ship from Liberia and a freight ship from China are also on the search.
It is not yet clear what caused the ship to run into problems. A spokesman for the Japanese Coast Guard did report that there was strong wind at sea at the time of the report.
The cargo ship is about 126 meters long and sails under the flag of Hong Kong. There were loads of lumber on board.
