Fishing boat sank in the waters off Jeju: 2 dead and 12 missing

[Anchor]

This morning (Nov.8), a mackerel fishing vessel sank in the waters off Jeju Island.

Among the 27 crew members, two Koreans have died, and twelve are missing.

First, our reporter Lim Yeon-hee will report on the circumstances of the accident.

[Report]

As a coast guard officer descended to a depth of about 30 meters, a large pile of nets appeared.

The search for the missing persons is being conducted around the nets of the sunken fishing vessel.

The accident occurred around 4:30 AM today, about 22 km northwest of Biyangdo Island, Jeju.

The 129-ton fishing vessel, Geumseong-ho, registered in Busan, capsized and sank while fishing mackerel.

There were a total of 27 people on board the accident vessel.

So far, 15 people have been rescued, but among them, two crew members were transferred to the hospital and ultimately died.

Of the 12 still missing, 10 are Koreans - including the captain - and 2 are Indonesian crew members.

[Park Seong-kyu/Navigator from the same fleet: "It's fortunate that we were able to rescue those people, but I hope we can quickly rescue the remaining individuals as well."]

At the time of the accident, it is reported that two people, including the cook, were inside the vessel, while the other crew members were working on the deck.

The coast guard believes that the accident occurred when the vessel suddenly tilted and capsized while transferring the catch that was trapped in the nets to a transport vessel.

It has been determined that no issues were found during a recent inspection of the vessel.

The coast guard has stated that this is an unusual accident and has begun an investigation to determine the cause.

[Ahn Jin-seop/Head of the Jeju Coast Guard's Investigation Unit: "To accurately establish the causal relationship, we need the crew's statements and other relevant information regarding where the vessel lost its stability."]

The coast guard reports that the water temperature in the accident area is 22 degrees Celsius, and they believe the missing persons could survive for up to 24 hours, intensifying their search efforts.

This is KBS News, Lim Yeon-hee.

[Anchor]

Now, let's connect with reporter Lim Yeon-hee to find out how the search operation is progressing.

Lim Yeon-hee, the families must be feeling extremely anxious right now. Is there any news on the missing persons?

[Report]

Yes, I am currently at the Seafarers' Welfare Support Center at Hallim Port, where a situation room has been set up.

Since this afternoon, some family members of the missing persons have been waiting anxiously in the waiting room for news of the rescue.

However, there has been no news of additional missing persons being found yet.

Although the sun has set, the night search operation will continue until 6 AM tomorrow (Nov.9) to find the missing persons within the critical 24-hour window.

Currently, 48 vessels, including 23 coast guard ships and 6 navy ships, as well as 5 aircraft, have been deployed to the accident area.

To assist with the search on the water, over 200 flares are also being dropped.

In particular, the navy's Gwangyang ship, equipped with special equipment, has arrived in Jeju to assist in the search, and the Cheonghaejin ship is expected to arrive tomorrow.

The coast guard conducted underwater searches four times today using underwater drones and CCTV.

During the search, the sunken hull was confirmed to be located 370 meters northeast of the initial accident site.

Starting tomorrow, deep-sea divers will also be deployed.

The depth of the water in the accident area is about 90 meters, and since the hull is connected to fishing nets, underwater searches and recovery operations are expected to be challenging.

This has been KBS News, Lim Yeon-hee, from Hallim Port, Jeju.