Another crew member was found dead Tuesday as divers searched inside a cargo ship that sank in the Pacific Ocean off eastern Japan, bringing the death toll from the accident to two, authorities said.
The divers had resumed a search for missing crew members with the hope that survivors might be discovered after noises believed to be coming from the ship were detected.
The victim was identified as Kazufumi Kamimura, 60, the chief officer of the 499-ton Sensho Maru. Earlier, Akira Yano, 72, was found dead. Another two crew members remained missing as of Tuesday night.
The vessel sank to the seafloor at a depth of about 30 meters after colliding with another 499-ton cargo ship, the Sumiho Maru, about 12 kilometers off Inubosaki, Chiba Prefecture, early Sunday.
The four crew members on the Sumiho Maru, based in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, escaped the incident safely. The captain of the Sensho Maru, based out of Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, was rescued.
According to the local coast guard office, a diver heard a faint knocking sound from the Sensho Maru on Monday.
The coast guard identified the two missing sailors as Hiroshi Seno, 69, and Saigo Umakoshi, 67.
