RANGOON — 20 Burmese nationals are believed dead after a fishing trawler sunk off Russia’s eastern coast on Thursday morning, according to reports from the Burmese embassy in Moscow.
Phone Lin Kyaing, the Burmese ambassador to Russia, said the embassy was still working with Russian authorities in order to provide assistance to survivors.
The embassy has provided a full list of the names and passport numbers of the 42 Burmese citizens aboard the vessel, and will speak to the press on Monday to advise which crewmembers had died in the sinking.
The Dalny Vostok trawler sank at around 4am local time off the Kamchatka Peninsula with a crew of 132, including 78 Russian nationals. The remaining 12 crewmembers were citizens of Latvia, Ukraine and Vanuatu. Investigators believe the ship sank in less than 15 minutes after colliding with drifting ice.
Rescue efforts are ongoing.
