A cargo ship carrying 5,800 head of cattle and 43 crew members capsized early Wednesday because of engine trouble in the East China Sea.
Sarena Edvardo, a 45-year-old Filipino man rescued by the Japanese Coast Guard said a wave overturned the 456-foot vessel. Edvardo had not seen any other crew members from the time he was rescued and said he was the only one around to see the ship sink.
The crew had 39 men from the Philippines and two from both Australia and New Zealand and they were transporting the cattle to China from New Zealand.
The livestock carrier left Napier, New Zealand on Aug. 14 and was expected to take about 17 days to arrive in Tangshan, a Chinese port city.
Japan has been dispatched three patrol vessels and five planes to rescue the remaining crew members.