SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean cargo vessel is missing after losing contact in the South Atlantic about 1,500 miles offshore, South Korea’s foreign ministry said Sunday. 
 
 22 crew members are unaccounted for, the foreign ministry confirmed. 
 
 Two Filipino crew members floating in a life raft were rescued Saturday, but other lifeboats found in the area were empty, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. 
 
 On Friday a crew member sent a text message saying the 148,000-tonne ship was taking in water on the port side, Yonhap said. 
 
 Stellar Daisy went missing 1,500 miles off Brazil's South Atlantic coast Smith, Saphora (206526372) / Google Maps 
 
 "A search operation is continuing for the 22 people," a South Korean foreign ministry official in Seoul said, adding eight of the missing are South Korean nationals and 14 are Filipinos. 
 
 South Korea has requested Brazil and Uruguay to aid in the search and rescue. 
 
 The very large ore carrier (VLOC) Stellar Daisy was sailing from Brazil to China carrying iron ore when it sent a distress signal to its operator, South Korea’s Polaris Shipping, on Friday, Yonhap said. 
 
 The ship is owned by the shipping firm which is based in Busan, South Korea. ||||| 2017/04/02 10:19 
 
 (ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with more details throughout; ADDS photo) 
 
 SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- Search and rescue efforts are under way to find 22 crew members of a South Korean ship that sank in the South Atlantic last week, after two sailors were safely picked up in a life raft, the Seoul government said Sunday. 
 
 The search for the missing South Korean ship, the Stellar Daisy, began Saturday, one day after the ship's crew sent a text to their South Korean employer, saying their ship was sinking. 
 
 The Marshall Islands-flagged ship was sailing near Uruguay when it made the distress call, according to the foreign ministry here. Seoul's embassy in Brazil had asked for assistance to find the missing crew with the Brazilian Air Force dispatching a C-130 plane to the site. 
 
 The escape raft carrying the two Filipino crew was found drifting by commercial ships in the area. Another raft and two powered lifeboats that can carry up to 30 people each were also discovered, but no one was on board. Authorities said that all crew members probably were wearing their life vests. 
 
 The 266,000-ton Stella Daisy, carrying eight South Korean and 16 Filipino sailors, departed Rio de Janeiro on March 26. The fate of the South Korean ore carrier also remains unconfirmed. 
 
 (END)
– A ship that measures more than 1,000 feet long has vanished in the South Atlantic. The Stellar Daisy departed Rio de Janeiro last Sunday and was bound for China with its load of iron ore. But on Friday, while off Uruguay, the crew texted their South Korean employer to say the 266,000-ton ship was taking on water on the port side, reports Reuters. Commercial ships in the area some 1,500 miles off the coast were made aware of the situation and began searching; two Filipino crew members were found in a life raft. But Yonhap reports that a second raft and two 30-person lifeboats were both found empty, though authorities believe the 22 missing crew members were wearing life vests. "A search operation is continuing for the 22," says a South Korean foreign ministry official. The BBC reports the Uruguayan navy has said ships participating in the search detected the smell of fuel.