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Sailors feared dead in Hong Kong accident

Eighteen Ukrainian sailors were feared dead yesterday after they were trapped underwater in their capsized tugboat in Hong Kong for nearly two full days amid strong currents, rescue officials said.

Based on the current water temperature of 17?C at the 37m depth of the wreck, sailors could have survived 12 hours since the accident late on Saturday, Roger Tupper, director of Hong Kong's Marine Department, said yesterday.

He said rescue divers had continuously knocked on the hull of the ship, but the sailors had not signaled back.

"Their chances for survival are very slim," said spokeswoman Zhang Jianwen of China's Guangzhou Salvage Bureau, which is assisting Hong Kong rescue officials.

Tupper said that rescuers would continue their efforts until the Ukrainian vessel was retrieved and the bodies were located.

He said bad conditions and the upside-down position of the wreck had hindered rescue efforts.

"The current is very strong. The visibility is very, very short. It's completely dark. Even in daylight, it's absolutely black [at] 37 meters," Tupper said.

Zhang said divers were tying up the Ukrainian tugboat and preparing it for a move to shallower waters to ease rescue efforts.

Preparation for the move was expected to take several days and a large Chinese salvage ship would be dispatched to Hong Kong from nearby waters on Friday, Zhang said. He said the salvage ship would arrive on Friday or Saturday.

The trapped Ukranian sailors are between the ages of 21 and 54, information released by Hong Kong's Marine Department showed. Further details were not immediately available.

The tugboat Neftegaz 67 -- which had been detained in Hong Kong in 2003 over safety concerns -- sank late on Saturday when it collided with the Chinese cargo ship Yao Hai in waters northwest of Hong Kong's Lantau Island.
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