“A Japanese fire-vessel was dispatched to the area of accident off China’s east coast, and arrived at the spot early on Thursday,” said Hassan Ghashghavi, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs.
The Iranian diplomat made the remarks in a special presser arranged for briefing the media on the latest status of the 30 missing crew of the Iranian oil tanker on Thursday.
“Upon arriving at the scene the Japanese started extinguishing operations and we hope that fire will be soon put out,” he voiced hope.
When the foreign ministry official was asked if Iranian rescue team had been sent to the scene, he said that the Iranian mission in China has done the necessary steps to get the permit for dispatching Iranian rescue teams to the scene, and upon issuance of the permission the Iranian teams will leave for the scene.
On Saturday evening, thirty-two crew members went missing after two vessels collided off China's east coast. According to China's Ministry of Transport, 21 crew members on the bulk freighter - all Chinese nationals - have been rescued, but there has been no information on the condition of the missing crew on the Iranian tanker, SANCHI.
Chinese maritime authorities have dispatched eight vessels, including three specialized cleansing vessels, for search and rescue. South Korea also sent a plane and a coast guard ship to help, according to Xinhua news agency.
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