Weather halts search for missing freighter

Bad weather Friday hindered the search for a cargo ship that disappeared in the seas off far eastern Russia while carrying hundreds of tons of gold ore. The emergency beacon of the vessel Amurskaya was activated shortly after it left the port of Kiran in the Khabarovsk Territory Wednesday, ITAR-Tass reported. The ship, destined for the port of Okhotsk, was carrying 772 to 823 tons of gold ore. Its carrying capacity was rated at 673 tons. The ship has a crew of nine. Aircraft and marine vessels were prevented from continuing the search Friday because of rough seas. The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Maritime Rescue Coordination Sub-center said winds in the search area of the Sea of Okhotsk were 38-44 mph, with 6 1/2-foot seas. Wet snow was falling, creating zero visibility. A search plane Thursday flew over the area for 2 1/2 hours.