A Russian trawler sank in the Sea of Okhotsk, pictured above, the icy waters off the nation's eastern coast, on April 1. More than 50 sailors died and 63 were rescued. Photo by KPG Payless2/Shutterstock

KAMCHATKA PENINSULA, Russia, April 2 (UPI) -- More than four dozen Russian sailors died in the Pacific Ocean after their vessel abruptly sank Wednesday about 1,500 miles west of the Alaskan territory, news agencies reported.

The trawler, called the Dalniy Vostok, was carrying 132 people when it sank at 6:30 a.m. local time, BBC News reported. Aboard the vessel were 78 Russian nationals, with the remainder were comprised of citizens from Latvia, Ukraine, Myanmar and Vanuatu.


Of the 132, at least 54 have been reported dead, and 63 were rescued, a maritime station in Russia's far east reported. News reports said search-and-rescue crews are still looking for the 15 others.

About two dozen fishing boats in the area assisted in the sailors' rescue, Sky News reported. Some of those rescued suffered from hypothermia.

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Authorities are not yet certain what caused the boat to sink, but reports indicated that drifting ice in the Sea of Okhotsk may have been a contributing factor.

A Russian news agency cited an official as saying the crew of the Dalniy Vostok might have violated safety rules by carrying too much cargo. In October 2012, a freight ship carrying 700 tons of gold ore sank in the Sea of Okhotsk.

The sea lies to the west of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, which borders the Bering Sea on its eastern shore. The boat's sinking and the search area is about 1,500 miles west of Alaska.

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A source with Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said the trawler did not send a distress signal before it sank.

The Sea of Okhotsk can be treacherous to navigate, particularly in the colder months.

In December 2011, an oil rig in the sea sank and killed several people -- and a year earlier, five ships navigating the sea needed to be rescued and freed after becoming stranded in the icy waters.

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