MOSCOW, December 12 (Sputnik) — Rescue teams have called off search operations for any remaining crew members of the South Korean trawler Orion-501 which sank in the Bering Sea two weeks ago, the head of the maritime rescue service in Russia's far eastern port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky told RIA Novosti Friday.
"It has been already two weeks since the wreck of the trawler, it seems senseless to keep searching for bodies," Arthur Rets said.
South Korean Coast Guard vessels are expected to arrive at the area on Saturday to retrieve the bodies of Korean citizens from the wreck site and return them home, according to Rets.
Search operations were put on hold since last week while the area was hammered by severe storms. On Wednesday US Coast Guard vessels left the site.
The trawler sank in the Bering Sea near the Russian far eastern region Chukotka on Monday last week. Of the 60 member crew, seven people – five from Indonesia, one from the Philippines and one from Russia – have been rescued. Twenty-seven people have been confirmed dead, while 26 are still missing.
