Manila - BNA
A Chinese cargo ship sank off the northern Philippine province of Cagayan early Sunday, resulting in the death of one crew member and the missing of another, the Philippine Coast Guard and Chinese embassy officials said.
Capt. George Ursabia, commander of the coast guard's District Northern Luzon, said a sailor was still missing and currently subject to search and rescue operation while 13 other crew members were rescued, according to China's (Xinhua) News Agency.
Ursabia said the ship, Changda 216, was half-loaded with magnetized sand when it sank about 2.4 kilometers from the mouth of Cagayan river as it was battered by big waves caused by the northwest monsoon. The vessel has 15 crew members on board, including 13 Chinese nationals, one Indonesian and one Filipino, said a Chinese embassy official, adding the dead sailor and the missing sailor are both Chinese nationals.
"We are looking for the missing and we are watching the sunken ship to prevent oil spill because it's loaded with 70 tons of diesel," said Ursabia.
Source: BNA