The Japan Coast Guard recovered the bodies of two Chinese crew members early Saturday after two cargo ships collided Friday night in the Seto Inland Sea off Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, coast guard officials said.
Thee two were identified as Jiang Quanyou, 30, and Lu Kai, 26, from the 6,000-ton Chinese-flagged Ogrady, which collided with the 2,700-ton Cambodian-flagged Lora around 8:40 p.m. Friday, the officials said.
The victims, who fell into the sea while trying to lower a lifeboat, were later recovered from the boat after it was found capsized in the water.
There were 22 Chinese crew members on the Ogrady and 27 Russian sailors aboard the Lora, the officials said.
The Ogrady was heading for South Korea after unloading coal in Osaka, while the Lora was heading for Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture, with a cargo of timber from Nakhodka in the Russian Far East.
Neither vessel was in danger of sinking and there was no leakage of oil, the officials said.
The Takamatsu meteorological office said both visibility and weather in the area at the time of the accident were good.