Eighteen Ukrainian sailors were feared dead on Monday after they were trapped underwater in their capsized tugboat in Hong Kong for nearly 40 hours amid strong currents.
Their chances for survival are very slim,'' spokesman Zhang Jianwen of China's Guangzhou Salvage Bureau told. Divers were searching for bodies, and a Chinese salvage boat was stabilizing the Ukrainian tugboat and preparing it for a move from its current depth of 35 meters (115 feet) to shallower waters to ease rescue efforts, Zhang said. A larger boat would be required for the move, but it was not immediately clear if such a boat could navigate through Hong Kong's bridges and waters, Zhang said. The tugboat Neftegaz 67 sank and has been lying upside down underwater since late Saturday, when it collided with Chinese cargo ship Yao Hai in waters northwest of Hong Kong's outlying Lantau island. The 80-meter-long (264-foot-long) Ukrainian vessel sank quickly but the Chinese ship suffered only bow damage and stayed afloat, officials said. All 25 crewmembers on the Chinese vessel were rescued, but only seven of the 25 on the Ukrainian ship were found. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear. Officials say weather conditions were reasonable at the time of the accident and neither ship was overloaded. The Neftegaz 67 was traveling from the southern Chinese city Shenzhen to an oil field south of Hong Kong.
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