ISHIGAKI, Japan, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Fourteen sailors detained after their Chinese fishing trawler had a run-in with the Japanese navy were sent home Monday without their captain, diplomats said.
The Chinese boat's crew members were transported from their vessel at Ishigaki harbor to the city's airport and put on a flight to China, Xinhua reported.
The state-run Chinese news agency said the crew members appeared healthy as they were escorted to two minivans for the trip to the airport. They were not given the opportunity to talk with reporters, Xinhua said.
Sources at the Chinese Embassy to Japan told Xinhua the chartered flight would take the sailors to Fuzhou in Fujian province.
The fishing vessel left port for Fuzhou shortly after the crew's plane took off. The ship was being guided by a new skipper as its original captain, Zhan Qixiong, is to be held until Sept. 19 after a court ruled Friday he was guilty of "obstructing public duties," Xinhua said.
The trawler had bumped with two Japanese coast guard patrol vessels last Tuesday off the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, creating diplomatic tension between China and Japan.
