Chinese ship sinks off southwestern Japan

The Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka confirmed Wednesday that a China-registered ship has sunk off Shimane Prefecture in southwestern Japan.

Early reports of local media said five crew members of the ship "LURONGYU2859" were rescued while some 9 others went missing after the ship went down in waters about 390 kilometers off Japan's Shimane Prefecture at around 8:00 am Tuesday.

The Japanese coastguard received a rescue request from China's search and rescue center late Tuesday evening and then dispatched a patrol boat to the site where the Chinese ship was thought to sink, according to the reports.