At Least 56 Dead As Russian Trawler Sinks

A Russian trawler with an international crew of 132 people has sunk in the Pacific, killing at least 56 crew.

The boat is said to have gone down so quickly that its captain, who drowned, did not have time to send a distress signal.

Emergency services said 63 crew members were rescued and 13 people are still missing.

More than 25 nearby fishing boats helped to rescue the crew members in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kamchatka Peninsula, in eastern Russia.

The Interfax news agency said drifting ice in the chilly Pacific waters may have played a role in the 26-year-old ship sinking.

Meanwhile, Russia's TASS news agency cited an official as saying the crew might have violated safety rules by exceeding the capacity of cargo storage.

"At this time we do not know what might have caused the tragedy," said Viktor Klepikov, from the rescue team.

Besides Russia, Interfax said crew members came from Latvia, Ukraine, Myanmar and Vanuatu.

President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences and ordered all necessary measures to help the survivors, some of whom have hypothermia.

Russia has a poor air, road and water safety record, with negligence and corruption often to blame for accidents.

In 2011, an overcrowded tourist boat sank in the Volga River, killing nearly 130 people in one of the worst post-Soviet ship disasters.