A Chinese factory-fishing ship that burned last week off Antarctica has sunk, with no crew aboard, Chile's navy said late Monday. The 104-meter Kai Xin caught fire and its 97 crew members were rescued by a Norwegian ship last week. The burning Chinese vessel then began to drift, narrowly missing glaciers. The Chilean navy said an official representing the ship's owner confirmed that the vessel sank Sunday afternoon near Bransfield Strait at the Antarctic Peninsula. A Chilean navy tugboat was searching for the ship's remains and was prepared to contain any spilled fuel. Officials had feared a damaging oil spill, but Captain Juan Villegas, the maritime governor for Chile's portion of Antarctica, said that appeared unlikely now. "An environmental disaster is ruled out because of the fire on board," he told the Associated Press. "Experts say that if there was any fuel on board, it has burned out by now."
