Bodies of two sailors have been found off the Laptev Sea coast after the Alexei Kulakovsky towboat sank early Friday with 14 members on board.

The boat sent a distressing signal before sinking.

A tanker rushing to the scene managed to save the captain and two crewmembers. The other 11 people were still missing.

"The search for the remaining nine crewmembers will continue until twilight," said a source from the Lena River Navigation as quoted by the Interfax news agency.

The emergency authorities sent two vessels and a Mi-8 helicopter for rescue operation.