Officials in Japan say three crew members of a Japanese crab fishing vessel have died after a collision with a Russian cargo ship off the northern island of Hokkaido.
The Japanese vessel capsized following the May 26 collision in the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Hokkaido.
The Russian ship rescued all five crew members, but three were confirmed dead after arriving at the port of Mombetsu, Japanese government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said.
Japanese media identified the Japanese ship as the 9.7-ton Daihachi Hokko Maru, based in the Japanese port of Mombetsu on Hokkaido Island.
The 662-ton Russian freighter AMUR, registered in Nevelsk on the Sakhalin Island, was said to be carrying crabs to the Japanese port.
Japanese authorities said they were investigating the incident.
According to the Kyodo News agency, a Japanese patrol ship escorted the Russian vessel to Mombetsu.
The Russian Embassy in Japan said that "the embassy and the Russian consulate general in Sapporo will render all necessary assistance” to the Russians on board the AMUR vessel.
