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.