(FILE PHOTO) Russian coast guard
Moscow: Russian rescuers on Monday ended a search for a fishing boat with 21 people on board that went missing in the Sea of Japan, saying there was no more hope of finding survivors.
"The search for the crew members of Vostok continued from 25 to 29 of January," said the head of the Vladivostok sea rescue center Nikolai Pirozhkov.
"Due to lack of any reasonable hope of finding any of the crew alive... the search was halted at 8 pm (1000 GMT)" and any further searches will be conducted by ships passing the area, he told AFP.
The Vostok sent out an emergency radio signal on Thursday from 200 kilometers (120 miles) off the coast of the far eastern Primorye region.
Emergencies ministry planes and several ships carried out searches for five days in rough seas and strong winds but with no success.
The vessel was going from the South Korean port of Donghae to Kholmsk on the Russian island of Sakhalin.
