Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A South Korean vessel has sunk on high seas in the Southern Ocean. Five sailors were killed in the accident, 17 others are still missing. 20 members of the 42 men crew have been saved. The ship was more than 2 thousand kilometres south of New Zealand. The crew was composed of eight South Koreans, eight Chinese, 11 Indonesians, 11 Vietnamese, three Filipinos and one Russian.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea said that the sinking of the vessel, called Number One In Sung, occurred at 19:30 on Sunday 12 December. The rescue operations were conducted by another fishing vessel operating in the vicinity, particularly high waves made the rescue difficult.

New Zealand maritime authorities said they had abandoned the search operations for missing sailors, since it is highly unlikely that they could survive in frozen water. In those waters, the maximum time of survival without life jackets or immersion suits, is 10 minutes. The alarm has been issued to all vessels that are in that remote area, and a helicopter has been dispatched to the zone. The ship sank without sending any distress message.