(3rd LD) 16 sailors missing after cargo ship sinks in Japanese waters

(ATTN: UPDATES lead, throughout with foreign ministry's announcement; CHANGES dateline)
INCHEON/ SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- Japan's coast guard is still searching for
seven South Korean and nine Indonesian sailors who went missing after their cargo
ship collided with a larger freighter off the coast of Japan early Tuesday
morning, diplomats here said.
The sailors aboard the 4,255-ton Orchid Pia collided with Panamanian-registered
automobile carrier Cygnuis Ace at around 2:15 a.m. near Izu Oshima island, about
120 kilometers south of Tokyo. The South Korean ship has since been out of
contact and is presumed to have sunk. The crew of the 10,833-ton Panamanian ship
are reportedly unharmed.
Japanese authorities have mobilized six patrol boats and four airplanes for a
search and rescue operation, according to the South Korean foreign ministry which
has been sharing information on the accident as per an international agreement.
"We will send a ministry official and a veteran staff member from the (South
Korean) coast guard to assist the operation," Kim Yu-chul, director of the
ministry's department handling accidents involving South Koreans abroad, said.
"The government has already formed an emergency team to deal with the situation."
He added that the families of the missing South Korean crew are expected to head
to Japan soon.
Earlier in the day, Japanese officials said they managed to find only life vests
and an emergency raft at the site of the accident.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)