China downgrades searching for missing DPRK sailors

JINAN—Intensive searches came to a stop on Friday for two missing sailors from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) after four days of fruitless efforts.
China’s marine search and rescue authority approved the withdrawal of professional rescuers, search ships and a helicopter from the campaign on Friday as no trace of the two sailors has been found in the freezing sea since Sunday, when their ship sank off the coast of northeast China.
However, residents and ships in the area have been asked to report to the authorities any clues about the two. The accident occurred Sunday afternoon when a DPRK registered cargo ship carrying 23 sailors capsized four nautical miles from the shore between Yantai and Weihai, in Shandong, in strong winds. On Monday, 21 of the 23 crew were rescued. One of them died on the way to hospital. The 20 survivors left China for home on Thursday.
The provincial maritime bureau estimated about 1,500 Chinese civilians and soldiers were mobilized in the rescue effort. The 20 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) sailors who were rescued by Chinese maritime police after their ship sank in strong winds left for home on Thursday.
The sailors took a passenger ship at 9:30 p.m. at Weihai port in east China’s Shandong Province and headed for Dalian port in northeast China’s Liaoning Province, where they will go home by train. The accident occurred around 4 p.m. Sunday when strong winds were sweeping the sea area and a DPRK registered cargo ship capsized four nautical miles from the shore between Yantai and Weihai in Shandong. At 3 a.m. Monday, 21 of the total of 23 crew on aboard were rescued. One of them died on the way to hospital.

—Daily Mail, People’s Daily news exchange item