Rescuers are on the way to the suspected location of the missing Vostok vessel in the Sea of Japan on January 25, 2018. (Photo by Russian Emergencies Ministry)
MOSCOW, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A rescue team of the Russian Emergencies Ministry has departed to the suspected location of the missing Vostok vessel, a ministry statement said Thursday.
The fishing vessel "Vostok" with 21 crew members on board disappeared at a distance of about 200 km from the coast of Primorsky Krai in the Sea of Japan earlier in the morning, according to the local division of the ministry.
A Be-200 aircraft of the Khabarovsk Aviation and Rescue Center to Primorye Territory carrying 10 rescuers of the Far Eastern Regional Search and Rescue Unit of the Ministry on board with all necessary equipment and a boat were involved in the search and rescue operation, the statement said.
At present, three helicopters are carrying out aerial reconnaissance in the area of operation of the emergency buoy, including a Mi-8 helicopter of the Khabarovsk Aviation Rescue Center, and an operational headquarter has been set, it added.
So far, only two lifejackets and some waste have been found after 4,100 square kilometers of the suspected location of the accident were inspected, but there was no trace of the ship crew, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Emergencies Ministry of Primorye Territory Alexandr Kaplunov said in a video posted on the ministry's website.
He said 102 people were participating in the search and rescue operation.
The Russian Coast Guard has sent patrol boats to the area. The Russian Defense Ministry also sent Mi-8 helicopters there to find the missing fishing vessel, according to a separate statement of the ministry.