Russian rescuers found a missing cargo ship, the Kapitan Kuznetsov, in the White Sea, a department from the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Wednesday.
A search operation started on Tuesday. The Kapitan Kuznetsov was en route from St. Petersburg to the northern Russian port city of Arkhangelsk when its distress beacons went off at 4:09 a.m. Moscow time (00:09 GMT).
There are 11 crewmembers and one passenger on board.
“All of the crewmembers are on board the vessel,” a ministry spokesman said. Earlier it was reported that an Mi-8 helicopter was to lift the crew from the vessel; however, it instead lowered a doctor and a rescuer onto the ship. The Kapitan Kuznetsov has taken a course for Arkhangelsk.
An icebreaker, the Dikson, is on its way and is due to arrive within a couple of hours. Rescue operations may become significantly complicated because there are 7-meter high waves in the area.