The Russian Embassy in China confirmed the death of three sailors in Hebei Province in July—August 2026. The dead were part of the crews of two vessels. According to preliminary findings of Chinese law enforcement officers, the death occurred due to natural causes and was not of a criminal nature.
"The competent authorities of the PRC notified the Embassy of the death in July—August of this year in Hebei province of three Russian citizens who are crew members of two Russian vessels. According to the preliminary findings of Chinese law enforcement officers, the death occurred due to natural causes and was not of a criminal nature,"the report said.
In accordance with the request of the Investigative Committee of Russia, work is underway to organize the repatriation of the bodies of sailors to Russia. They will conduct a forensic medical examination there, which should establish the causes of the incident.
Consular department employees are in constant contact with relatives of the deceased, representatives of the shipowner, Chinese and Russian law enforcement agencies, the embassy said. Diplomats provide the necessary assistance.
Earlier, the media reported that the dead sailors were on the ship of the company "Island Crab", assigned to the port of Malokurilskoye on the island of Shikotan. The Sakhalin Regional Union of Trade Union Organizations confirmed the death of three sailors. Among the dead were a radio operator and an assistant captain, the position of the third sailor at that time was unknown.
The wife of one of the victims told REN TV that her husband flew to China on July 23 to overtake the Island Crab ship to Vladivostok. According to her, the trip was supposed to take about ten days. However, on July 30, the woman contacted the human resources department of the company due to lack of communication with her husband. She was informed that everything was in order, explaining the delay by technical problems with registration. On the same day, the man called his wife. This was their last conversation.
In August, the ship's staff informed her of her husband's death. According to Chagina, at first she was told that the man died in the cabin because of the heat, and then the representative of the occupational safety company voiced the version about alcohol. According to the woman, on the day of her death, the air temperature outside the vessel reached 38 degrees, and inside the metal hull without air conditioning could rise to 42-45 degrees. She believes that the cause of death could be the heat.
In January, the State Labor Inspectorate in Sakhalin region reported another fatality in the company "Island crab". During the setting of the crab trap, the sailor was overboard, later he was found without signs of life, RBC reminds.