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Friday, April 14, 2006
Philippine freighter sinks after collision with Japanese boat
TOKYO -- A Philippine-registered freighter sank after it collided with a Japanese cargo vessel near Tokyo Bay in heavy fog Thursday, but its 25 crewmembers all managed to escape to safety, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The 6,182-ton Eastern Challenger began taking in water and sank at 12:07 p.m., about seven hours after colliding with the 498-ton Tsugaru-maru, said Isao Matsumoto, a spokesman for Japan Coast Guard's regional office in Yokohama.
The freighter's 25 Filipino crewmembers were picked up by the coast guard after fleeing their sinking ship in life boats, Matsumoto said. He said they were all unharmed and had been taken to Yokosuka port.
The five crewmembers of the Tsugaru-maru were also unharmed.
Visibility was about 150 meters at the time of the accident, but the cause of the collision is still under investigation, Matsumoto said.
The Eastern Challenger was carrying steel products and was on its way to Yokohama from a port in the Philippines via Japan's western port of Osaka. The Japanese ship was heading to Tomakomai on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido transporting animal feed, Matsumoto said. (AP)
(April 14, 2006 issue)
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