The Russian authorities have confirmed the death of a Ukrainian citizen on the Dalny Vostok trawler that sank in the Sea of Okhotsk, Foreign Ministry of Ukraine spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis has said.

"Over the phone, [Russia] confirmed that our citizen was identified as dead. His name is Yuriy Horobets. His body along with other deceased and saved [people] are heading for Sakhalin in a vessel. The fate of the other three Ukrainian citizens remains unknown. Their citizenship still remains unknown too," he told journalists on Friday.

The Dalny Vostok freezer trawler sank within 15 minutes in the Sea of Okhotsk, 300 kilometers south of Sakhalin, early on April 2. Fifty-four have so far been confirmed dead and another 15 remain unaccounted for. Sixty-three people were rescued. Of them, ten are in serious condition.

The vessel had 132 people on board when in sank. They include 78 Russian citizens, 42 citizens of Myanmar, five citizens of Vanuatu, four Ukrainians, and three Latvians.

Perebyinis confirmed that the Dalny Vostok crew included four Ukrainian citizens, of whom three also have Russian passports as they are from Crimea.