Lone Filipino survivor in Vietnam ship sinking ‘uncooperative,’ says official

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HANOI, Vietnam―The lone survivor so far in the sinking of a Norwegian cargo ship off southern Vietnam has refused to cooperate with rescuers and investigators, a Vietnamese official said Sunday.

The Vietnamese rescue official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that the refusal of the lone survivor was making rescue efforts more difficult.

According to the official, the survivor was the chief cook on the ship, but he is refusing to say what happened to the cargo vessel which was manned by an all-Filipino crew of 19 men.

It wasn’t clear why the survivor wasn’t talking.

Two bodies have been recovered since the Bulk Jupiter sank Friday en route from Malaysia to China, and Vietnamese rescuers aided by commercial ships passing through the area continued to search for the others, according to Vietnamese authorities and the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

The ship owner, Bergen-based Gearbulk, said the vessel was 155 nautical miles (287 kilometers) off Vietnam with a cargo of bauxite when it sent a distress signal that was picked up by the Japanese coast guard.

The Philippine Foreign Affairs said the 190-meter (623-foot) long, 56,000-ton ship sank off the coast of Vung Tau, which is about 96 kilometers (59 miles) from the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City.

The rescue operation was hampered Saturday by hazy weather and high waves.

Vessels from Liberia, Oman, Singapore and China were helping in the search, the Philippine Foreign Affairs said.

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