Vessel Sinks, Eight Drown

At least eight crew members of a Panama-registered cargo ship drowned after the vessel sank off Japan on Sunday, the Japanese coastguard said on Monday. The 3,561-ton White Koowa, with a crew of two Japanese and 12 Filipinos, was carrying 3,000 tons of nickel ore when it sank off Kochi, about 335 miles southwest of Tokyo. Five crew were rescued on Monday and one Filipino crew member remained unaccounted for after the coastguard dispatched patrol boats and aircraft to the scene on Monday. The dead included the ship's captain and chief engineer, both Japanese. It was not known immediately why the ship went down. The White Koowa, which left Indonesia on December 26, had been due to arrive at a southwestern Japanese port on Monday. - (Reuters)