A vessel with 15 citizens of China aboard is in distress in Sakhalin, Mi-8 helicopter readies to fly to the site, RIA Novosti reported referring to Russian Ministry for Emergencies in Sakhalin region.
"SOS signal has been received from the "NANO 2" vessel, proceeding to the village of Moscalvo, Okha region," the statement reads.
According to the Russian Ministry for Emergencies, the vessel is transporting pipes.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry for Emergencies said that the helicopter will leave for the site at 10:30 a.m. local time (23:30 GMT), but the flight had to be delayed by an hour due to bad weather conditions.