SEARCH FOR MISSING SEAMAN FROM 'NAUTICA 64' DISCONTINUED

SPLIT, Jan 7 (Hina) - The search for Sinisa Madunic (aged 39), the seaman who went missing after the Croatian ship 'Nautica 64', carrying 155 tonnes of stone slates, capsized some 30 miles from Ancona, was definitely discontinued on Sunday. The head of the Split port authorities, captain Boris Matosic, confirmed this for Hina, adding the search would have resumed if weather conditions near the Italian coast had not been very unfavourable. Madunic was one of a five-member crew on board the 'Nautica 64' at the time of the accident. The ship's commander Petar Jasic, helmsman Dusko Vukovic and seaman Marko Mijatovic were killed in the accident. Only one seaman, Geni Vukovic, managed to save himself by swimming to an oil rig. The fifth seaman, engine manager Sinisa Madunic, has not been found yet. All five seamen are from Krila Jasenice, a small town near the central Adriatic port of Split. It is assumed that Madunic's body is inside the ship and that it will be found if the ship is towed away before it sinks. Captain Matosic said the Croatian embassy in Rome had officially reported the bodies of the three dead seamen were ready for transfer to Croatia, where they were expected to arrive in two to three days. An intensive investigation into the circumstances of the accident is underway. (hina) rml