(Adds details of recovery in paragraphs 3-5) HONG KONG, March 26 (Reuters) - The bodies of two out of 18 missing Ukrainian sailors trapped in a shipwreck in Hong Kong waters were recovered on Wednesday after divers entered the vessel for the first time since it sank at the weekend. Divers scouring the Ukraine-registered tugboat Neftegaz-67 had been hampered by adverse conditions, but authorities said they finally gained entry to the vessel early on Wednesday through an opening on the main deck. "The first missing sailor ... was found in the auxiliary engine room and the second missing sailor was found in a cabin nearby," said chief fire officer Chow Wing-tak, who is leading a 150-strong team of divers in the underwater recovery effort. The identities of the sailors have not yet been ascertained. Officials gave no details of the possible fate of the other missing sailors. Only five of the ship's 32 rooms have been searched so far, with progress slow given tight spaces and floating debris within the dark, upturned ship, Chow said. One of the divers became trapped during the night dive and had to be rescued, he added. The boat is now lying upside down on the ocean bed 37 metres (122 feet) underwater, with swift currents and poor visibility having prevented initial access to the 80-metre long vessel. Hopes of finding any survivors remain slim, with Hong Kong experts saying it was unlikely anyone might last more than 12 hours if exposed to the present seawater temperature of around 17 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit). The accident occurred on Saturday when the Ukrainian tug collided with a Chinese registered bulk carrier "Yao Hai" in Hong Kong's western waters off Lantau island. Of the tugboat's 25 crew, seven members, including six Ukrainians and one Chinese, have been rescued. A delegation of around 20 Ukrainian experts and officials, led by the vice-minister of transport and communication, arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday night to support the rescue operation. "Everyone in Ukraine is optimistic that we'll do our best to save people and we hope that there are still some people alive," said delegation member Oksana Reiter. The safety record of the Ukrainian tug has come under scrutiny, with media reports suggesting the tug had been deemed unsafe after repeated inspections in recent years. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday that an inspection on the vessel last October in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen had "uncovered a catalogue of safety faults and technical and navigational flaws". (Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Alex Richardson)
A journalist from Ukraine reports on the shore off the site where a tugboat capsized in Hong Kong waters March 26, 2008. The bodies of two out of 18 missing Ukrainian ...
