TOKYO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Japan Coast Guard launched a search operation on Wednesday after a freighter with 43 foreign crew and about 5,800 cattle aboard went missing while traveling west of Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, local media reported.
The 11,947-ton Gulf Livestock 1 sent a distress call around 1:45 a.m. local time when it was about 185 km west of Amami-Oshima Island, according to the coast guard.
The crew members of the Panamanian-registered vessel were made up of two Australians, 39 Filipinos including the captain and two New Zealanders.
The coast guard initially said a Singaporean was aboard but then corrected it and said that person was an Australian.
The coast guard dispatched patrol boats to the area to search for the vessel, which left New Zealand on Aug. 14 and was slated to arrive in China next Friday.
Bad weather with strong winds and torrential rain took place in the area around 2:00 a.m. Wednesday local time due to Typhoon Maysak, according to the weather station in Kagoshima. Enditem
