VLADIVOSTOK, April 24. /TASS/. The rescued crew of the fishing vessel Kaltan, which caught fire off the coast of South Korea in April, plans to return to Vladivostok on another ferry on May 2, the Russian Foreign Ministry's office in Vladivostok told TASS on Monday.
On the morning of April 21, the Kaltan vessel caught fire in the Sea of Japan, 20 nautical miles from the Korean city of Busan. The ship was brought ashore, where the fire was extinguished. Twenty-one of the 25 crew members were rescued, and the bodies of four others were found on board after the fire was extinguished.
"It is planned that the rescued sailors will return on the next ferry on May 2. The fact is that after evacuating from the burning ship they have to recover their documents. The ferry runs on Tuesdays, but they will not have time to go through all the procedures tomorrow. They should have time until May 2," the office said.
It was noted there that there was no clarity on the return of the bodies of the dead sailors to Russia. For this, at least identification procedures must be carried out.
Investigators have opened a criminal case over the fire on the vessel for violation of maritime safety regulations. According to them, the fire broke out in the wheelhouse and the living compartment. The owner of the vessel suffered losses of over 1 million rubles.