VLADIVOSTOK, November 6 (RIA Novosti) – The An-26 airplane that set off Tuesday morning to search for the missing freighter Amurskaya returned with no news, the local search and rescue center told RIA Novosti.
“The airplane carried out a search of the area of water and coastline in the region where the freighter is thought to have been lost. This produced no results, and it returned,” a spokesperson for the local search and rescue center said.
The Amurskaya was carrying 700 tons of gold ore when it vanished without trace a week ago in the Sea of Okhotsk. Since then repeated attempts to locate the vessel have been in vain.
Investigators have established that the Amurskaya was overloaded, likely under-manned, and that it set sail without the correct paperwork. A criminal case relating to the fatal violation of maritime safety regulations has been brought, and the general director of the company that owns the ship has now been detained.
It was announced yesterday that divers would search a location where something that could be the missing vessel was found at depths of 25 meters. However, storms in the Sea of Okhotsk continue to hamper their work. As soon as the weather improves, the divers plan to continue their search.