Hopes fade for Ukrainian sailors in Hong Kong collision

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hopes are fading for 18 Ukrainian sailors trapped in a sunken ship for nearly two days in Hong Kong waters, but officials on Monday wouldn't rule out the possibility the seamen could still be alive.

Hong Kong rescuers stepped up searches on Monday for the seafarers of the Ukraine-registered tugboat Neftegaz-67. The vessel sank on Saturday night after colliding with another ship.

The tugboat is now lying upside down on the seabed, 37 meters (122 feet) under water.

Hong Kong officials said they couldn't ascertain if the sailors were alive or not, but said it was unlikely any survivors might last more than 12 hours if exposed to the present seawater temperature of around 17 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit).

Meanwhile, divers sent down on repeated missions to scour the 80-metre long ship's exterior have not detected any signs of life.

"They (divers) have been continuously knocking on the hull of the vessel to try and see if there's any response to indicate that there's anybody within the hull that's alive," said the director of Marine, Roger Tupper.

"I have to be sorry to say that to date, in fact since we did the first dive on the hull yesterday morning, we haven't had any response," Tupper added.

No other sailors have been found in surface searches around the wreck, Tupper added.

Divers have made a number of attempts to get into the wreck, but adverse conditions were hampering efforts and divers had not yet found a way inside.

"Conditions ... are extremely difficult, the current is very strong, the visibility is very, very short. It's completely dark. Even on a day like this it's absolutely black at 37 meters," Tupper said, adding the ship was sinking into mud on the seabed.

A salvage boat had been deployed to drag the vessel to shallow waters, but officials said this plan was no longer feasible given the conditions.

Instead, authorities have decided to call in Asia's largest salvage vessel, the "Hua Tianlong" from China, to assist with the extensive maritime search and rescue operation, Hong Kong's Cable TV said in a report, but it wasn't expected till later this week.

The accident occurred on Saturday when the Ukrainian tug collided with a China-registered bulk carrier, the "Yao Hai" in Hong Kong's eastern waters off Lantau island.

Of the tugboat's 25 crew, seven members including six Ukrainians and one Chinese have been rescued so far.

The "Yao Hai", with 25 crew members aboard, suffered some minor damage but no injuries were reported.

(Reporting by Alison Leung and James Pomfret; Editing by David Fogarty)