TOKYO: Japanese authorities racing to find dozens of missing sailors from a cargo ship that sank in a typhoon found a second survivor on Friday, as another, much more powerful storm drew near.

The Gulf Livestock 1, which was carrying 6,000 cows, issued a distress call early Wednesday as Typhoon Maysak passed through the area, setting off a desperate search for the 43 crew on board. A first survivor was found on Wednesday evening, with the body of a second crew member recovered at sea early Friday, as hopes began to fade for the operation and powerful Typhoon Haishen barrelled towards the area.

But the coast guard said they found a second survivor on Friday afternoon, a 30-year-old Filipino who was spotted in a life raft several kilometres from Kodakarajima, a remote island in southwestern Japan.

The man, identified as a deckhand, was reached by a patrol boat and was alone in the raft. He was able to walk unassisted, the coastguard said.

The first survivor from the ship, a 45-year-old Filipino chief officer, told rescuers he had put on a life jacket and jumped into the sea after a warning announcement on board.