Two people have died and 12 others are missing after a fishing boat sank off the southern resort island of Jeju, South Korea, on Friday, November 8.
A nearby vessel raised the alarm around 4:30 a.m on Friday, November 8 which is around 19:30 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) Thursday, November 7, when it spotted the 129-ton ship sinking, prompting authorities to initiate a rescue operation. said Chung Moo-won, a Jeju coast guard official.
Chung Moo-won, a coast guard official at Jeju island, South Korea noted that, of the 27 crew members on board, 15 were rescued, including two South Korean nationals who later died in the hospital.
12 people remain unaccounted for, including two from Indonesia.
One of the rescued crew members stated that the boat capsized while they were pulling up fishing nets to transfer the catch to another vessel.
Chung said authorities would investigate the cause of the incident by interviewing the survivors.
President Yoon Suk Yeol directed that all available resources be mobilized for the rescue operation, while ensuring the safety of the rescue teams, according to a statement from his office.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also requested the defense ministry to provide military flares and aircraft to assist with the night-time operations.
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