At Least 56 Dead After Russian Trawler Sinks

The Russian trawler Dalny Vostok, which was known previously as Stende, in an undated photo

At least 56 people have died after a Russian trawler sank in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said on April 2 that 63 of the 132 people who were on board the trawler Dalny Vostok when it sank overnight have been rescued.

Thirteen crew members remain missing.

Officials said survivors, many suffering from hypothermia, had been transported by helicopter to a hospital in Magadan, some 250 kilometers away.

The ministry said more than 25 fishing boats in the area helped save crew members.

It said that in addition to Russians, the crew included 42 Burmese citizens, five citizens of Vanuatu, four Ukrainians, and three Latvians.

It was not clear what caused the trawler to sink.

State-run news agency TASS cited a source in the regional Emergency Situations Ministry as saying drifting ice may have played a role.

The source said the vessel did not send out a distress signal.

With reporting by TASS, Interfax, RIA, and Reuters