Korean Cargo Ship Missing
A large South Korean cargo ship with 24 crew on board is believed to have sunk in the Atlantic Ocean after making an SOS call, News agencies reported quoting the Uruguayan navy.
The Stellar Daisy was missing after making its last contact in the South Atlantic about 2,500 kilometres (1,500 miles) from shore, South Korea's foreign ministry and news reports said on Sunday.
On Friday, a crew member sent a text saying the 312m-long (1024ft) Stellar Daisy freighter was taking on water. The Uruguayan navy alerted merchant ships in the area, which began a search.
Two Filipino crew members were rescued floating in a life raft on Saturday, but other lifeboats and rafts found in the area were empty, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
The AP citied Uruguayan Navy spokesman Gaston Jaunsolo saying that the survivors said the Stella Daisy split in two and sank. A Brazilian Navy plane joined the rescue team around 4,000 kilometers off Uruguay's coast. Argentina's Navy has also been helping.
Jaunsolo said the first ships that reached the scene reported a "strong smell of fuel" and spotted debris.
The ship, a Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC), was being operated by a South Korean company but was flagged to the Marshall Islands, and had 16 Filipinos and 8 South Koreans on board.
Authorities say the Stellar Daisy, owned and operated by South Korea's Polaris Shipping, was carrying iron ore from Brazil to China when it sent the distress signal Friday.
