Sri Lanka’s navy said on Wednesday it had located 14 bodies inside a Chinese fishing boat. It had capsized last week with 39 crew on board.
The discovery came a day after a preliminary Chinese government probe concluded there were no survivors
The Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 overturned on May 16, with 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos on board within Australia’s vast search-and-rescue region.
5,000 kilometres (2,700 nautical miles) west of Perth.
The Sri Lankan navy said its divers had recovered two bodies and spotted 12 more on Tuesday. They released photos showing the upturned red hull of the vessel and bodies hauled out of the water.
It said the locations of the 12 bodies inside the boat had mapped and handed to Chinese authorities. The nationalities of the located bodies has not immediately known.
The Sri Lankan navy statement came a day after a preliminary probe by the Chinese transport ministry concluded that all those on board had died.
Besides, Australia had sent three aeroplanes and four ships to help in the international search-and-rescue efforts.
Penglai Jinglu Fishery also runs squid and tuna fishing operations in international waters. Thus including the Indian Ocean and seas surrounding Latin America.