Ten people died and eight were reportedly missing after a fishing boat capsized off the southern coast of South Korea, Yonhap News Agency cited the Korea Coast Guard as saying.
The 9.77-ton Dolphin lost contact with another boat around 7:30 pm local time Saturday, and was found capsized north of the island of Jeju at around 6:25 am local time Sunday.
Three persons have been rescued so far and airlifted to a hospital in Jeju. One of the survivors was reported as saying that the boat capsized ”in an instant” due to rolling waves.
Lee Pyung-hyun, chief of the Jeju coast guard, said that the Dolphin had 21 people on board at the time of the accident.
Korean navy dispatched eight vessels, one aircraft and one helicopter to the area around Seomsaengi Island to search for the eight persons still missing.
In total, over 50 navy and coast guard vessels have been mobilized for the search.
Diving crews were instructed to follow local currents in search of the missing.
World Maritime News Staff