Russian divers have located the sunken cargo ship Amurskaya which was carrying a 700-tonne cargo of gold ore, rescuers from the Yuzhsakhalinsk centre said Wednesday.
The ship had sunk near the Shantarsky islands in the Sea of Okhotsk Oct 28 with nine crew members on board. The vessel was en route from the port of Kiran to the port of Okhotsk with a cargo of gold ore weighing 700 tonnes.
Russia's Transport ministry confirmed the finding in a statement saying: "With improving weather conditions, after finding a submerged object on sonar, the rescue ship Rubin moored over the object. The object was confirmed as the Amurskaya."
"The divers work is completed. None of the sailors' bodies have been discovered, but a search inside the ship has not taken place," a source said.
A decision on whether it is safe to search inside the ship will be taken later by rescue authorities in Moscow.