Russia to stop air search for missing crew from sunken fishing trawler

Russia will end its air search Friday for the 13 people missing from a fishing trawler that sank off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, local authorities said Thursday.

The maritime search and rescue efforts in the shipwreck area will continue until April 10, and the number of fishing vessels participating in the rescue mission has increased to 43, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said.

A MI-8 helicopter is carrying out the last day's air search, the ministry said.

The fishing trawler Dalniy Vostok had 132 crew members on board when it sank in the Sea of Okhotsk at 6:15 a.m. local time (1915 GMT) on April 2.

So far, 56 people have been confirmed dead, with 63 rescued and 13 still missing.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. Endi