"First, the rescue services hoped that water could be pumped from the ship and that it could be towed to Murmansk," the source said. "However on Wednesday, at about 11:00 p.m. Moscow time, the ship sank after it had careened."
According to the source, a Norwegian helicopter brought five members of the crew from the Bear Island to the town of Hammerfest yesterday. Twelve members of the crew were taken on board the Kiev, then to Bear Island and then on board the Izumrud fishing vessel. Soon they will be taken to the Norwegian town of Kirkenes.
"Later," the source said, "the ship's owner will decide how to bring them back to Murmansk."
The Murmask rescue and coordination center received the Malakhit's distress signal at 5:40 a.m. Moscow time on Wednesday. The Malakhit was in the Barents Sea near Bear Island, Norway.
At 7:10 a.m. Moscow time, the crew abandoned ship in life rafts. The rescue operation was complete on Wednesday at about 10:00 a.m. Moscow time.
Eighteen members of the crew were rescued. Two members, engineer Nikolai Rudenko (1963) and cook Vladimir Dresvin (1968), died.
The Norwegian authorities intend to investigate the cause of the shipwreck.
The Murmansk Board of Civil Defense and Emergencies reported that as soon as the crew members arrive in Hammerfest, the Norwegian authorities and the Russian Consulate in Norway will interview them about the cause of the shipwreck.
