Search for survivors after Russian factory ship sinks, 54 die in freezing waters

Rescuers were yesterday searching freezing waters off Russia's Far East after a fishing boat sank in the Sea of Okhotsk, possibly after a collision, with the loss of at least 54 lives.

Some 132 people were on board the trawler Dalny Vostok when it went down at around 6.30am off the coast of Kamchatka. Sixty-three people were rescued alive. Fifteen people were still missing.

Surviving victims were still awaiting evacuation to hospitals after a helicopter failed to pick them up on the first attempt and had to return to base for more fuel, an emergency ministry spokeswoman said.

"Nine people are in a grave condition, some are unconscious and some in a state of shock," said Tatyana Yukhmanova, spokeswoman for the ministry in the Kamchatka region.

"Although they were wearing wetsuits, they suffered hypothermia because the water temperature is around zero degrees Celsius," she said.

She said the rescue efforts would continue until nightfall at which point they would be scaled down with the search continuing with the use of projectors.

Those survivors in the most serious condition were to be taken by a helicopter to Magadan, a city which lies 250km to the north in the sparsely populated region. Others were waiting for a large depot ship with an onboard hospital to arrive.