The five bodies are the crew of a Chinese fishing boat, Lurong Yuanyu 378, which has 16 members. Four people have been rescued, while seven other crew members are unknown.
"We found five bodies in the boat that were upside down and will still carry out the search and rescue process for seven (crew) others," explained the officer of the Japan Coast Guard Service, as quoted by the Inquirer, Friday (6/10/2017).
Meanwhile, the entire Brighton Lucky tanker crew - Hong Kong-flagged ships involved in the collision incident - numbering 21 people were declared safe and secure.
The 290-ton, 290-ton Yuanyu Lurong ship collided with a 63.3-thousand-ton Brightoil Lucky tanker. The accident occurred in the East Sea or about 400 km north of Oki Island, Japan on Thursday.
Japan deployed three patrol boats and several divers to search for missing sailors after the collision, after receiving SOS signals from other Chinese ships close to the scene. Until this news was launched, the search process is still ongoing.
