Six sailors, presumed to be Russians, were found dead after a fire that broke out on a ship docked at a port in Japan's northernmost Hokkaido prefecture early on Thursday, Japanese media reported.
On getting an alert at around 01:45 a.m local time, firefighters and Japan Coast Guard patrol boats were sent to the freighter docked at the Wakkanai port. It took 11 hours to put out the fire on the Cambodian-registered vessel 'Taigan' carrying a load of Russian crabs.
Fire-fighters said they found six charred bodies inside the vessel believed to be those of six Russians unaccounted for out of 23 crew-members from Russia and Ukraine. Three are being treated at a hospital for burns and other injuries.
Japanese police are questioning the ship's captain as part of their investigation.
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