The Japanese coast guard says a rescued man believed to be one of the crew of a capsized cattle ship has died.
The coast guard said earlier today it had rescued the man, believed to be the second survivor from a ship carrying cattle from New Zealand to China that capsized in stormy weather in the East China Sea.
The coastguard said the man was found unconscious about 120km north-northwest of Amami Oshima island and transferred to hospital.
News of his death come on Friday afternoon. Kyodo news cited the coastguard as saying the man had died.
A life jacket and cattle carcass were also collected from the same area, the coastguard said, and the search was continuing for 41 other crew members who remain missing.
Three vessels, one airplane and two divers were taking part in the search for the Gulf Livestock 1, which went missing on Wednesday after it sent a distress call as Typhoon Maysak lashed the area with strong winds and heavy seas.
UAE-based Gulf Navigation issued a statement saying the Panamanian-flagged Gulf Livestock 1 was their vessel.
"Our hearts go out to those onboard and their families at this time," a Gulf Navigation spokesman said.
"We also express deep regret for the sad loss of the livestock on board. We are monitoring the situation closely and working closely with those involved in rescue efforts. We pray that there are other survivors."
Sareno Edvarodo, a 45-year-old chief officer from the Philippines, was rescued on Wednesday night, Japan's coastguard said.
The crew of 43 was made up of 39 people from the Philippines, two from New Zealand, and two from Australia, the coastguard said.
The coastguard quoted Edvarodo as saying the ship lost an engine before it was hit by a wave and capsized.
It left Napier's port with more than 5800 cattle on August 14, headed to the Port of Jingtang in Tangshan, China, and was expected to arrive 17 days from its departure.
The Japanese Coast Guard said it would search for four days for survivors until Sunday, when another typhoon is due to hit the area.
It will decide whether to resume once the typhoon has passed.
Both Australia and New Zealand said they were providing consular assistance to the families of their crew members.
A Queensland vet is believed to be one of the two Australians missing onboard.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Winston Peters said not a lot was known at this stage, but it was a sad situation for the families.
He told Morning Report news of another typhoon only added to the worries.
"It's just adding to the problem and at this point in time it's building up, and we can't be certain at all about our capacity to put assets in their to do the job they're trying to do.
"This is a serious disaster with so many lives at stake, we hoped for something better but it's not a good situation at all."
Peters said he could not disclose any identifying information about the missing New Zealanders, but they had been in touch with the families.
"This is a matter of seeing whether they are rescuable, and ensuring the family knows first either way."
Following the incident, the Ministry for Primary Industries yesterday temporarily suspended consideration of cattle livestock export applications. But Peters said a complete halt on cattle exports in the future was not the answer.
"If it was not for livestock exports, this country would have no farming industry at all. The question is that we do in a way that safe and humane in respect to the animals and the people who do it. In this case we seem to have had a perfect storm."
Bill Sweeny from NZ Farmers Livestock said the company had recently supplied cattle to Australasian Global Exports and some of these cattle were on board the ship.
He said the possible loss of human life was tragic.
"I can't remember in all my years - I've been 40 years in the industry - hearing of a livestock ship sinking and claiming lives... it's quite exceptional."
He said the government would have to be careful around the halting of live cattle exports because contracts had been signed.
"The ramifications for the farmers are huge. We've got a situation now where we've got literally hundreds and hundreds of cattle sitting in quarantine that have now been all mixed with cattle from all round New Zealand.
Farmers might refuse to take them back on biosecurity grounds and if they were forced to sell them "the hit would be massive".
Australian Live Export Council chief executive Mark Harvey Sutton said the capsize was shaping up as a maritime disaster.
"Not something the industry is used to by any stretch of the imagination. This is very clearly an exceptional event, it's a tragedy if our worst fears are confirmed."
- additional reporting RNZ
