Four Russian crew members were killed in a fire on the Cambodia-flagged freighter Taigan (operator Polar Co Ltd), anchored in the port of Wakkanai (Hokkaido, Japan), the State Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of the Russian Transport Ministry said Thursday.
There were a total of 23 crew members on board, including 19 Russian nationals and 4 Ukrainians.
As of 08:00 am (UTC), May 16, 2013 the fire was still ablaze. The Centre said four bodies of crew members have been discovered on the ship, two are still unaccounted for, 17 men are reportedly in “satisfactory condition.” The Russian Foreign Ministry officials are verifying details of the incident.