Initial probe says no survivors in Chinese fishing vessel capsizing

There were no survivors after a fishing vessel carrying 39 crew members from China, Indonesia and the Philippines capsized last week in the Indian Ocean, according to an initial government probe released on Tuesday.

"From an analysis of the ship's capsizing... it is preliminarily judged that there are no survivors from the ship," Beijing's transport ministry said in an official social media post.

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The Chinese vessel overturned on May 16, carrying 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos.

The boat capsized within Australia's vast search-and-rescue region, Beijing's ambassador to Canberra said Thursday, noting it was 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) to the west of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia.

The Chinese transport ministry on Tuesday said rescuers had trawled an area of around 18,700 square miles (48,400 square kilometres), and "did not find any sign of survivors".