Nine missing after Chinese ship sinks off Japan

Nine people were missing after a Chinese-registered ship sank off the coast of Japan, according to a report in Japanese media early Wednesday.

Five crew members were rescued from the vessel, which was reported to have sunk at around 8:00 am Tuesday off Shimane Prefecture in the southwest of Japan’s main Honshu island, Kyodo news agency said, citing the Japanese coastguard.

A patrol boat has been deployed to the site where the ship Lurongyu was thought to have gone down in the Sea of Japan, Kyodo reported.

The Japanese coastguard said it had received a rescue request from China’s search and rescue centre late Tuesday evening, according to the report.