Three crewmen of Sakhalin schooner which was in distress in Sea of Okhotsk saved

Three members of the crew of the Sakhalin schooner which was in distress in the gale Sea of Okhotsk were saved on Monday by the sailors of the Russian refrigerating ship Abinsk. As the officials of the Sakhalin sea rescue-coordinating centre (SKC) said, all the saved people "are safe and sound". The fishing schooner which was in distress in the Sea of Okhotsk was found last night by the crew of the Uglekamensk fishing trawler of the Magellan company of Vladivostok. Fortunately, the trawler literally encountered the small craft, since no signals of distress were coming from it, the schooner's engine did not operate, and the deck lighting on it was not switched on.

Big waves, up to 6-8 metres high, did not allow the small trawler to take the crew from the schooner, and for the whole past night the Uglekamensk drifted near the schooner without losing sight of it.

According to the Sakhalin SKC's information, the schooner took to sea illegally. According to the documents, it is figuring as laid up, since navigation of small craft on Sakhalin is over. As soon as the saved fishermen arrive at Korsakov port it will be found out how they went to sea and on whose order, the Sakhalin SKC officials noted.