The 50-metre trawler Shoyu Maru-52 capsized when the cargo aboard was shifted by the severe storm in the Sea of Okhotsk, Itar-Tass reports.
The accident details were reported to the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk sea rescue centre from the Kapitan Kamratov trawler that rescued 19 crewmembers from the Shoyu Maru.
On Wednesday morning, the Kapitan Kamratov received the distress signal and headed to the area together with another Russian vessel. The crews of the vessels saw red flares fired by the fishermen in distress. The people were found in an inflatable life raft. They were taken aboard. Dry clothes and food were given to the rescued fishermen.
The Shoyu Maru captain said that the cargo aboard his trawler was shifted during the storm. Four-five-metre waves removed the hold hatch, and the water got into the hold. The vessel capsized in five minutes and lay to the right side. The crew in a hurry evacuated into the raft. They had no time even to take documents.
The Kapitan Kamratov is on the way to the port of Korsakov where the people will be discharged.