MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) - The Russian Investigative Committee is supervising an inquiry into the sinking of the Russian trawler Dalny Vostok off the Kamchatka peninsula in the Sea of Okhotsk, committee spokesman Vladimir Markin has said.
The committee's Far East branch investigating transport accidents and incidents has already opened a criminal inquiry on a count of "breaching guidelines for the safe operation of vessels, accidentally leading to the death of two or more persons," Markin said.
Investigators have already established that the 26-year-old Dalny Vostok freezer trawler, owned by Magellan LLC and registered at the Nevelsk port, sank within 15 minutes. The accident occurred at around 4:12 a.m. Sakhalin time on April 2.
The vessel had some 132 people - 56 passengers and 76 crew members - on board when in sank. They include 78 Russian citizens, 42 citizens of Myanmar, five citizens of Vanuatu, three Latvians, and four Ukrainians.
According to the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's Far East regional center, 63 people have been rescued alive and another 54 have so far been confirmed dead. Fifteen people remain unaccounted for. Twenty-six fishing vessels are taking part in the search and rescue operation in the Sea of Okhotsk. Among them are the fishing trawlers Novouralsk, Granit and Ivan Kalinin.
Investigators are analyzing different theories behind the accident. One theory suggests that the trawler could have sunk after hitting some obstacle, causing water to flood the engine compartment.