MOSCOW (Sputnik) — More than 80 Russians were on the Dalniy Vostok trawler that sunk in the Sea of Okhotsk early Thursday, a senior official of Kamchatskiy region government, Sergei Khabarov, said.
"Eighty one Russian citizens were on board of the vessel. They said earlier that it was 78, because they didn't include the residents of Crimea," Khabarov said on Rossiya 24 television channel.
In the early hours of Thursday, the Dalniy Vostok trawler sank in the Sea of Okhotsk around 300 kilometers, or 186 miles, from the Russian port city of Magadan, with 132 people on board. At least 54 died, a local emergencies source told RIA Novosti.
The cause of the accident is under investigation, while at least 1,400 people are taking part in a continuing search and rescue operation.
The trawler was carrying large volumes of fuel, according to a spokesperson of the Far Eastern division of the Russian Emergencies Ministry. The spokesperson told RIA Novosti that there appeared to be no danger of a fuel leak.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the families of those who died in the incident Thursday.
