A Russian fishing trawler with at least 11 crew on board has sunk in stormy waters west of the island of Sakhalin in the Pacific, the Interfax agency reported Friday.
Rescue vessels were now feverishly searching for the missing crew members, but hopes of finding any survivors were dim due to the stormy conditions and ice-cold temperatures, DPA reports.
At the same time, thick ice was endangering other ships in the region, with an icebreaker ploughing through the Sea of Okhotsk to try to free a fishing boat which had become stuck.
Several other vessels with hundreds of seamen were also said to be awaiting rescue from the ice. But officials said that the ships had sufficient provisions on board.