Nine Chinese missing after cargo ships collide off Japan

TOKYO: Nine Chinese crew members were missing after two cargo chips collided at the mouth of Tokyo Bay early Tuesday, Japan's coastguard said. The Panamanian-flagged Beagle III, a 12,630-ton vessel, carrying steel coil, sank after colliding with the South Korean-registered Pegasus Prime in the Uraga waterway. The accident happened at about 3:10 am, Monday. “Twenty crew members, all Chinese, were on board the Beagle, of whom 11 have been rescued,” a coastguard official said. Patrol ships and a helicopter were continuing to search for the missing crew members about five hours after the accident, the official said. The crew on the 7,406-ton Pegasus Prime were unhurt. The sea was not believed to be rough at the time of the collision, according to the coastguard.