2 missing, 9 rescued after fishing boat capsizes off Jeju
Nine foreign crew members were rescued as coast guard teams search rough waters off Jeju for the captain and another crew member.
A fishing boat lies capsized in waters off Chagwido Island, Jeju, on Oct. 5.
JEJU REGIONAL COAST GUARD
Nine people were rescued and two people are missing after a fishing boat capsized off Jeju Island early Monday.
The Jeju Regional Coast Guard received a report at around 3:04 a.m. that the 29-ton offshore longline fishing boat Seongjin No. 7 had capsized about 65 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Chagwi Island, off Hangyeong-myeon in Jeju City. The boat is registered in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, and had 11 people on board.
Fishing boats nearby rescued nine foreign crew members — eight from Indonesia and one from Vietnam. The rescued crew members have noted having hypothermia, but are reportedly not in critical condition.
The captain and an Indonesian crew member remain missing. When the boat reported its departure, it listed eight people on board, but 11 were actually aboard.
The Coast Guard sent two helicopters and nine patrol vessels to the area. A Coast Guard helicopter reached the scene at around 4:28 a.m. and lowered aerial rescue swimmers to look for the missing, but there were no signs of response. A Navy vessel, a government fisheries guidance vessel that arrived around 5 a.m. and three private fishing boats are also searching nearby waters.
The search is expected to be difficult, with northwesterly winds blowing at 12 to 14 meters per second (27 to 31 miles per hour) and waves of more than 2 meters (6.6 feet) in the area.
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook was briefed on the accident and issued the emergency order at around 3:07 a.m., according to the Prime Minister's office.
She ordered the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Coast Guard to put saving lives first and told them to use every available resource, including patrol vessels and underwater search and rescue teams.
Han told the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of National Defense and the Jeju provincial government to provide any personnel and equipment they could for the rescue so operations at the scene could run smoothly. She also ordered officials to take every precaution for the safety of rescue workers, given the weather at sea.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
