More than a dozen crew members have been pulled from the water during search and rescue operations after a cargo ship sank in the sea between South Korea and Japan. Of the 14 sailors recovered Wednesday, at least five survived, a South Korean Coast Guard spokesman said. Six people have been confirmed dead. Nothing was known about the condition of the others until the evening. 8 of the probably 22 crew members were still missing.

Six sailors were recovered by the South Korean coast guard, the others by the Japanese coast guard and civilian ships nearby, it said.

The 6,551-ton cargo ship "Jin Tian", which was registered in Hong Kong and had transported wood, made an emergency call about 150 kilometers southeast of the South Korean island of Jeju in the morning, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. When the Coast Guard reached the position of the ship, it was already sunk in the sea.

According to the South Korean coast guard, boats and airplanes were also used in the search operation in the evening. According to the website vesselfinder.com, the "Jin Tian" was on its way to Incheon on the west coast of South Korea.