Yeosu (South Korea), Feb 9 A fishing trawler with 14 crew members on board sank in waters off South Korea's southern coast early on Sunday, leaving four people dead and six missing, officials said, with rescue efforts underway.
The 139-ton vessel, carrying eight South Koreans, three Vietnamese and three Indonesians, was reported missing at 1:41 a.m. in waters about 17 kilometres east of the island of Habaek, near Yeosu, located 316 km south of Seoul.
Coast Guard vessels and other fishing boats have so far rescued eight crew members, but four South Koreans have died, including the vessel's 66-year-old captain, Yonhap news agency reported.
Five of the rescued, including the captain, two Vietnamese and two Indonesian crew members, were found aboard a life raft, while the others were discovered drifting in the waters.
The two rescued Indonesians have been moved to the Coast Guard's office in Yeosu to be interviewed about the accident, while the Vietnamese nationals are being treated at a nearby hospital after showing signs of hypothermia.
The Coast Guard said the vessel appears to have capsized after heavily tilting to its left side based on remarks from the rescued Vietnamese crew members.
"Excluding three people inside the ship, all 11 other crew members jumped into the sea," it said in a briefing.
Despite poor weather conditions, the Coast Guard considers it unusual for a vessel of over 100 tons to capsize in the 2.5-metre waves at the time and is investigating the exact cause of the incident.
The fishing trawler was part of a group of four other fishing vessels but it reportedly did not send out a distress signal, leading the Coast Guard to suspect the sinking took place unexpectedly.
The vessel departed from Gamcheon port in Busan, some 320 km southeast of Seoul, on Saturday to catch fish in waters near the southwestern island of Heuksan, South Jeolla Province.
A total of 24 patrol ships, four Navy vessels, 13 aircraft and other civilian and agency ships have been deployed to try to find the missing crew members.
During search efforts in the morning, a Coast Guard high-speed boat capsized due to high waves but all six on board were rescued by another Coast Guard vessel.
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