Koreans among nine dead after chemical tanker capsizes near Japan

A Korean tanker is seen capsized off an island in southwestern Japan on Wednesday. [AP/YONHAP]

A total of nine people, including two Koreans, are dead after a Korean chemical tanker capsized off an island in southwestern Japan on Wednesday.

According to Kyodo News, the Japan Coast Guard rescued nine of the 11 crew members on board Wednesday and immediately transported them to the hospital. Eight were later pronounced dead.

The surviving crew member, confirmed to be in a stable condition, is from Indonesia.

On Thursday, Kyodo News announced that the Japan Coast Guard recovered a dead body, which was later identified as Korean.

The crew of the capsized ship consisted of two Koreans, eight Indonesians and one Chinese national.

The Japan Coast Guard is continuing the search for the last missing individual.

On Wednesday morning, the Japan Coast Guard received a distress call from the Korean vessel, reporting that it was tilting while anchored near Mutsure Island in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, due to harsh weather conditions.

According to Japanese authorities, the chemical tanker was carrying 980 tons of acrylic acid and was bound for Ulsan after departing from the Japanese Himeji port.

No leaks have been detected as of yet, Japanese officials stated.

Of the crew members, the captain and chief engineer were Korean nationals, according to the Busan-based company that owns the overturned vessel.

The company dispatched one of its employees to Japan to assess the situation and has been in contact with the crew members' families.

The Korean government reviewed the sinking as well as how the Foreign Ministry and Oceans and Fisheries Ministry handled the situation, following a meeting held on Wednesday about the capsized vessel.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]