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Two people were killed and nine were missing when a cargo ship capsized off Japan's southwest coast in severe winter winds early Wednesday.
Six people who were rescued were unconscious, while five were alive as of 8:30 p.m. local time (1130 GMT), the Japan Coast Guard said, partly citing information from its South Korean counterpart. The Japanese coast guard said the 6,651-tonne Hong Kong-registered "Jintian" - carrying 22 crew who according to media reports were Chinese or Myanmar nationals - issued a distress call late Tuesday.
The area where the ship sank is between Nagasaki and South Korea's Jeju Island, where hundreds of flights were canceled on Tuesday due to bad weather. There was no immediate information about the cause of the ship's capsize. A Coast Guard spokesman said the winds were strong at the time. Media reports said the ship was carrying timber from Malaysia to Incheon, South Korea. Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said the coast guard sought assistance from patrol ships and aircraft west of Nagasaki. The ship sank at 2.46 am (1746 GMT on Tuesday), they said, citing other ships in the area. The coast guard is "asking for cooperation from the self-defense forces, the South Korean coast guard and ships sailing near the waters," Matsuno told reporters. Cold winds and freezing storms hit western parts of Japan on Tuesday
