Russian rescuers were searching Thursday for a fishing boat that went missing during a storm in the Sea of Japan with at least 20 crew on board.

The vessel, called Vostok, sent an emergency radio signal while in stormy seas around 200 kilometers off the coast of the far eastern Primorye region Thursday morning local time, according to the Russian emergency services ministry.

The boat disappeared in an area of sea around 3 kilometers deep with five-meter-high waves, Russia's fisheries agency said, amid strong winds.

Rescuers have so far covered 4,100 square kilometers of ocean and were set to continue at night using floodlights.

The boat had been travelling from the port of Donghae in South Korea to Sakhalin.

Commercial fishing is a major source of employment in far eastern Russia with high demand for seafood from Asian Pacific countries, but conditions can be harsh.

新闻来源: www.vestiprim.ru