3 dead, 1 missing as fishing boat sinks by South Gyeongsang

Social Affairs

Published: 14 Mar. 2024, 10:32 Updated: 14 Mar. 2024, 17:44

3 dead, 1 missing as fishing boat sinks by South Gyeongsang

Search and rescue teams from the Korea Coast Guard on Thursday look for survivors from a fishing boat that sunk 8.5 kilometers (5.28 miles) off the coast of Yokji-do, an island in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang. [YONHAP]

A fishing boat sank off the southern coast of Korea on Thursday dawn, leaving 10 rescued and one missing.

The inundated boat sank in waters not far from an island near Yokji-do, Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang at 4:15 a.m.

Of the rescued, three Koreans were pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital in unconscious state. A captain is one of the victims.

The other rescued crew members — one Vietnamese and six Indonesians — were confirmed to have no health issues.

The rescue team is currently searching for the last missing Korean crew member.

The Korea Coast Guard (KCG) Tongyeong Station received a report of the sinking ship at 4:15 a.m.

The KCG mobilized 16 coast patrol ships, two naval warships, two vessels from affiliated authorities and a privately-owned vessel for its rescue mission. Three aircraft are additionally aiding rescue efforts.

The 169-ton pair trawler departed from Dongho Port, Tongyeong at 5:10 p.m. on Wednesday and was scheduled to return on Thursday. It completely sank underwater as of Thursday 9 a.m.

The KCG launched an underwater rescue and search on Thursday at noon based on the identified location of the ship.

“The authorities are open to all possibilities regarding cause of the accident,” an official from the KCG said.

On the same day, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that a total of 3,092 marine accidents happened last year. Some 94 people died or went missing due to such accidents last year.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, HYEON YE-SEUL [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]