Although there is the possibility that the vessel was carrying too much cargo, the main theory “is that a large body of ice shattered the vessel’s hull, sinking it,” said a source.
The Interfax news agency echoed those words, saying that “drifting ice in the chilly Pacific waters may have played a role.”
Of the 132 people aboard the Dalniy Vostok when it sank, 56 have been confirmed dead and 63 rescued, according to RIA-Novosti. Ten of the survivors are in a critical condition, suffering from hypothermia.
Although 26 fishing boats are currently helping with the rescue operation in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kamchatka Peninsula, it is unlikely that any more survivors will be found.
“To keep oneself alive in water where the temperature is around two degrees above freezing is impossible,” said Artur Rets, Chief of Maritime Rescue from the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
Sources said that the huge freezer trawler – 103-meters long and 16-meters wide (337 ft x 52 ft) – sank just 15 minutes, so quickly that it did not even send out a distress signal.
“The main theory concerning what happened is that a large body of ice shattered the vessel’s hull, sinking it,” said a source, adding that there was also the possibility that it had been carrying too much cargo.
http://rt.com/news/246061-russian-trawler-far-east-sinks/
Thanks to D Bishop and Alex Tanase for these links