Russian fishing vessel sinks north of Japanese island; 1 sailor dead, another missing

Russian fishing vessel sinks north of Japanese island; 1 sailor dead, another missing

A Russian fishing vessel sank north of Japan's island of Hokkaido on Thursday, killing one sailor and leaving another missing, officials said.

The cause of the schooner's sinking was not immediately known and it occurred just off Kunashir Island, emergency official Alexandra Vasichkina said. She said 12 members of the vessel's crew were rescued, one was found dead and another remained missing, reports AP.

A search effort for the missing crewman was under way, Vasichkina said.

Kunashir is one of the disputed, Russian-held islands off the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido which Moscow refers to as the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories.