Japanese sailors rescued from ship ablaze

VLADIVOSTOK, April 18 (Itar-Tass) -- Twenty-seven Japanese sailors
have been rescued from the Daichi Shoei Maru ship which caught fire in the
Pacific Ocean 540 miles east of Guam Island on Sunday, April 17, the
on-line Maritime Bulletin Sovfracht reported on Monday. The fire broke out
on board after an explosion, the Maritime Bulletin said.
The costal guard service of Japan and the United States conducted a
rescue operation. U.S. naval experts who received SOS from the burning
ship contacted the South Islander freight ship flying under a Panamanian
flag, which was nearest to the ship in distress at the moment. The freight
ship which was 115 miles off the area where Daichi Shoei Maru caught fire
immediately sailed to the rescue of the crew.
A Japanese costal guard plane which spotted the Daichi Shoei Maru,
guided the freight ship to the ship in distress.
Late on Sunday the Japanese crew had to abandon the ship on inflatable
safety rafts. Half an hour later the South Islander took the crew on board.