Japan: A dozen Chinese crew members were rescued by Japan's coastguard when their Panama-registered boat caught fire in a Japanese bay, an official said on Friday.
Television footage showed thick smoke pouring from the Hao Han, a 1,999-tonne cargo vessel, as the ship listed badly in waters off Osaka, in Western Japan.
Japan's coastguard, which has recently been heavily involved in a standoff with Beijing over disputed islands in the East China Sea, pulled the crew to safety and was tackling the blaze.
"There were no injuries among the crew," a coastguard spokesman said, adding the first information about the accident had come in on Thursday night.
The cargo vessel, which left Kagoshima in southern Japan last Friday and docked at two other Japanese ports before sailing for China, was loaded with 1,000 tonnes of scrap metal, he said.
Live footage aired by public broadcaster NHK showed a fierce fire on the boat as a Japanese coastguard vessel sprayed it with water.
The accident comes as a bitter territorial dispute between Japan and China over the ownership of an island chain showed little sign of abating.
China took the row to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi accusing Tokyo of stealing the islands, known as Diaoyu by Beijing and as Senkaku in Japan.
Television footage showed thick smoke pouring from the Hao Han, a 1,999-tonne cargo vessel, as the ship listed badly in waters off Osaka, in Western Japan.
Japan's coastguard, which has recently been heavily involved in a standoff with Beijing over disputed islands in the East China Sea, pulled the crew to safety and was tackling the blaze.
The cargo vessel, which left Kagoshima in southern Japan last Friday and docked at two other Japanese ports before sailing for China, was loaded with 1,000 tonnes of scrap metal, he said.
Advertisement
The accident comes as a bitter territorial dispute between Japan and China over the ownership of an island chain showed little sign of abating.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Japan Lifts Megaquake Warning, Says Citizens Can Return To Normal Life Japan Set To Lift Megaquake Warning If There Is No "Major Seismic Activity" Huawei’s Upcoming Tri-Fold Smartphone Tipped to Carry a Hefty Price Tag at Launch Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home, Body Found 9 Days Later In UP "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool Rahul Gandhi's Seat At Red Fort Triggers Fresh Congress Attack On BJP Left, BJP, Creating Unrest: Mamata Banerjee On Midnight Attack At Hospital 'Don't Club Us With Others,' Says Manipur's Thadou Tribe, Waits For Peace Plan More Monkey Pox Cases Likely To Hit Europe Soon, Says WHO Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.