Amurskaya freighter

The freighter Amurskaya disappeared in stormy weather on Sunday after sending Mayday signals which were picked up by coastguards.

The Russian-registered vessel sent out Mayday signals on Sunday morning sparking a huge search and rescue operation in stormy weather conditions.

The loved-ones of the nine crew of a freighter loaded with gold ore are refusing to give up the slender hope that they will be found alive.

The first evidence that sailors may have survived revealed with pictures of life jackets from the vessel found on a nearby island.

After three weeks, the authorities are at a loss to explain what happened to eight out of nine members of the wrecked Amurskaya vessel.

The wreck of the Amurskaya freighter has been found by divers in around 24 metres of water, officials confirmed on Wednesday.

Eight seamen from the sunken Amuerskaya freighter remain missing from the gold carrying freighter which sank in a storm in late October.

Relatives of the sailors lost almost six weeks ago on a gold-ore carrying freighter are begging the authorities to keep hunting for the crew.