LONDON, England (AP) -- Rescuers said Friday they had all but given up hope of finding five crewmen alive after their ship capsized off northern Scotland.
Three other sailors were confirmed dead in the accident. Seven crew members from the Norwegian oil rig support vessel Bourbon Dolphin were rescued and were being treated at a hospital in the Shetland Islands.
A coast guard helicopter and navy divers with heat-seeking cameras scoured the frigid North Sea for signs of the missing crewmen, who included a 15-year-old boy and his father. They found no signs of survivors.
"The status has now changed from a search-and-rescue operation to a salvage-and-recovery operation," said Lt. Lee Madigan of the Clyde naval base in Scotland. A coast guard spokesman said the chances of finding the crew members alive were "extremely slim."
The Bourbon Dolphin capsized Thursday in calm seas west of the islands, off Scotland's northern tip, while performing a routine anchor-handling operation on a rig.
British officials said all the crew members were Norwegian, although media in Denmark reported that one was a Dane.
A 15-year-old boy, who was working aboard the vessel with his father, was among the missing.
British coast guards said the five missing crew members may have been trapped in the hull of the upturned vessel, which was operating at the Transocean Rather rig when it capsized.
Michael Coull, duty watch manager at Aberdeen Coastguard, said there might be an air pocket under the overturned vessel, "and if the remainder of the crew were in a watertight compartment, then there's a possibility that they could still be alive."
"However, the chances are extremely slim and it's highly unlikely that that's the case," he said.
The ship capsized at about 5 p.m. Thursday and remained on the surface of the calm ocean in clear weather about 80 miles west of the Shetland islands, coast guard spokesman Mark Clark said.
capsize
転覆｛てんぷく｝する、ひっくり返る
rig
掘削装置｛くっさく そうち｝、艤装｛ぎそう｝、装置｛そうち｝、道具｛どうぐ｝
vessel
船、船舶｛せんぱく｝、大型船｛おおがた せん｝、飛行機｛ひこうき｝
frigid
ひどく寒い、寒さの厳しい、極寒｛ごっかん｝の
salvage
海難救助、財貨救出、救出｛きゅうしゅつ｝、救助｛きゅうじょ｝
naval
海軍｛かいぐん｝の
hull
《海事》船こく、船殻｛せんかく｝、ハル、船体｛せんたい｝◆エンジン、マスト、上部構造物を除いた構造体。
watertight
水を通さない、防水｛ぼうすい｝の
compartment
区画｛くかく｝、分室｛ぶんしつ｝、仕切り客室｛しきり きゃくしつ｝、車両｛しゃりょう｝、個室｛こしつ｝、防火区画｛ぼうか くかく｝