Russian trawler sinks off Kamchatka with 54 reported dead

A Russian trawler has sunk off the Kamchatka peninsula, with 54 sailors so far confirmed dead, BBC News reports.

Sixty-three people have been rescued, many suffering from hypothermia, according to a maritime rescue centre in Russia's Far East.

The Dalniy Vostok freezer trawler had 132 people on board when it sank.

Seventy-eight of the crew were Russian, with the remainder coming from countries including Latvia, Ukraine, Myanmar and Vanuatu.

The Dalniy Vostok went down in the Sea of Okhotsk, 330 km (205 miles) west of Krutogorovsky settlement, at around 06:30 (20:30 GMT Wednesday).

Drifting ice may have holed the vessel, according to Russian emergency services.
Water flooded the engine compartment and the trawler then sank within 15 minutes, a local branch of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.

The ship did not send out a distress signal before the accident, according to local media.

Some two dozen ships and a rescue helicopter are involved in searching for remaining survivors in freezing waters around zero degrees C (32degF).

The 15 people who are still missing are thought to have been in the ship's hold as the trawler sank, reported Russia's Tass news agency.