The incident occurred on Wednesday about 110 kilometers west of Japan's Danjo Islands in the East China Sea. The Jin Tian cargo ship with 22 crew members aboard —14 Chinese and eight Myanmarese — was en route to South Korea's city of Incheon from Malaysia.
Lyu confirmed to Chinese broadcaster that 13 crew members had been retrieved as of Thursday, five of whom were in a stable condition. Eight people have been confirmed dead, including six Chinese citizens, the official added.
The consulate-general also expressed deep condolences to the victims and pledged to arrange the return of rescued Chinese nationals back home in the coming days.
The Japanese Coast Guard and their South Korean counterparts continue joint search and rescue operations. Lyu asked Tokyo to make every effort to search for the other nine missing crew members.