Firefighters found no bodies in the compartments inspected aboard the fishing vessel Triumph after it was towed into Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, on Tuesday, September 29.
Four of the 29 crew remain missing. The Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky marine rescue sub-centre told RIA Novosti that firefighters were still tackling the engine room fire and had not inspected every space aboard.
A Rosaviatsia helicopter searched waters about 70 nautical miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky without finding the missing crew, the sub-centre told RIA Novosti in a separate September 29 update.
Active searches by the rescue vessel Suvorovets have ended. “Only passing vessels are conducting incidental searches,” the sub-centre said.
The fire began on the evening of September 25 in the Pacific Ocean east of Cape Khozhelayka. 25 crew evacuated on liferafts and were picked up by the passing vessel Persei.
Seven of those rescued were injured. Four were hospitalised, including two in serious condition.
Triumph was still burning on September 27, when responders could not board it to inspect it or take it in tow, the sub-centre told RIA Novosti. The crew of Suvorovets monitored the surrounding waters.
Firefighters had extinguished the fire in some spaces after the vessel arrived in port. The sub-centre said the interior still required flushing down before the vessel could be inspected and law-enforcement representatives allowed aboard.
The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under Article 263 of the Criminal Code, concerning violations of maritime transport safety rules. Investigators are considering a possible electrical equipment fault and breaches of fire-safety or vessel operating rules.
