Huge cargo ship disappears in South Atlantic with 22 crew members on board
A huge cargo ship has vanished in the South Atlantic while carrying 22 people on board.
The South Korean vessel has sparked a search operation after disappearing in unknown circumstances.
The Stellar Daisy was sailing from Brazil to China when it sent out a distress signal on Friday.
A message received by the ship operator said it was taking in water on the port side and listing rapidly.
Two people were found in a life raft and rescued but other lifeboats and rafts found in the area were empty.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported the two people picked up in the sea were Filipino crew members.
A South Korean foreign ministry official said a search operation was underway for the 22 people.
Of those missing eight are South Korean nationals and 14 are Filipinos.
Brazil and Uruguay have been asked to help in the search and rescue efforts.
The huge ship was said to be carrying iron ore and is owned and operated by South Korea’s Polaris Shipping, based in Busan.
More From YonHap News:
A life raft believed to be from a South Korean ship that sank in the South Atlantic last week has been found with efforts now under way to safely rescue two sailors on the raft, the Seoul government said Sunday.
The search for the missing South Korean ship, Stella Daisy, began Saturday, one day after the ship’s crew members sent a text to their South Korean employer, saying their ship was sinking.
The Marshall Islands-flagged ship was sailing near Uruguay when it made the distress call, according to the foreign ministry.
The life raft was found drifting by commercial ships in the area.
An earlier report said two life boats had been spotted.
The ministry later corrected only one small raft has been found, carrying two people. The nationalities of its two occupants have not been confirmed.
The 266,000-ton Stella Daisy was carrying eight South Korea and 16 Filipino sailors. The fate of the South Korean ore carrier also remains unconfirmed.
