BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- No survivors were found in a weeklong search for 39 crew aboard a Chinese ocean fishing vessel that capsized in the central Indian Ocean, and seven bodies have been retrieved, China's Ministry of Transport said Tuesday.
A large-scale search operation has covered the possible area of drifting of the victims. At 3 a.m. Tuesday, one week after the accident, the large-scale search operation began to downsize into a small-scale search operation for 48 hours.
At noon Tuesday, seven vessels were operating on the site, and the capsized vessel continued to drift northeastward, said the ministry.
On Sunday, three bodies were retrieved by Chinese fishing vessels, and another body was recovered from a cabin by divers from a Sri Lankan warship. Another three people were confirmed dead previously.
The wrecked ship, Lupeng Yuanyu 028, had 39 crew on board, including 17 Chinese sailors, 17 Indonesians, and five from the Philippines. The accident occurred at about 3 a.m. on May 16. ■
