Survivor: Wave Took Down Cargo Ship Packed With Cows

42 crew members are missing
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2020 7:01 AM CDT
Survivor: Wave Took Down Cargo Ship Packed With Cows
This Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020, satellite image released by NASA shows Typhoon Maysak over Japan's southernmost islands, including Okinawa, center.   (EOSDIS) via AP)

Rescuers plucked a Filipino sailor from rough waters near Japan Wednesday, but 42 of his crewmates are still missing—along with almost 6,000 cows. The Japan Coast Guard says the Gulf Livestock 1 cargo ship sent out a distress call from the East China Sea west of Amami Oshima Island early Wednesday as Typhoon Maysak battered the area with 130mph winds, CNN reports. The rescued crewman, 45-year-old chief Sareno Edvarodo, spent around half a day in the water. He told rescuers that the ship lost an engine before it was hit by a wave and capsized, the New Zealand Herald reports. He said he jumped into the water with a life jacket on before the ship sank, but he did not see any other crew members.

The Panamanian-flagged vessel was carrying its cargo of 5,867 cows from New Zealand to China. The missing crew members include 38 Filipinos, two New Zealanders, and two Australians. The SAFE NZ animal welfare group called for the New Zealand government to halt the export of live animals. "These cows should never have been at sea," said campaigns manager Marianne Macdonald, per the Guardian. "This is a real crisis, and our thoughts are with the families of the crew who are missing with the ship," she said. "But questions remain, including why this trade is allowed to continue." (More shipping stories.)

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