Yesterday (20th), a Chinese fishing boat sank in the western waters of South Korea, 4 crew members were unfortunately killed, and 2 others were missing. According to Yonhap News Agency reported today, the South Korean search and rescue team searched for the missing person overnight without success.
During the day on October 20, the South Korean Coast Guard carried out an all-out search and rescue in the relevant waters, pictured by Yonhap News Agency
Yonhap News Agency said that the South Korean Gunsan Marine Police Said on the 21st that the search and rescue team composed of coast guard, fishing government vessels, etc. last night carried out search and rescue work overnight in the area where Chinese fishing boats sank, but did not find the missing persons.
According to reports, the search and rescue team used flares to conduct a comprehensive search in the sea area where the incident occurred, but failed to achieve results. The Coast Guard said that after dawn, it will put in planes again to expand the search area. A relevant person from the Gunsan Coast Guard said that the direction of search and rescue will be established according to weather conditions.
The scene of the sea search in the sea area of the incident, pictured from Yonhap News Agency
At the time of the incident, two Chinese fishing vessels were reportedly approved to conduct double-vessel trawling operations in the Exclusive Economic Zone of South Korea in Gunsan City, North Jeolla Province, South Korea, near Qingdao. At about 00:05 yesterday, one of the ships ( 239 tons ) sank 124 kilometers southwest of Qingdao , with a total of 15 people on board. After the incident, 7 crew members were rescued by another fishing boat, and the South Korean Coast Guard also rescued 1 crew member. After that, 1 of the 7 missing crew members was rescued, 4 were killed, and the remaining 2 remained unaccounted for.
As for the cause of the shipwreck, according to the South Korean Gunsan Marine Police, it may be caused by the deterioration of meteorological conditions or the failure of fishing boats. In addition, the South Korean Coast Guard will hand over the rescued crew members and the accident investigation case to the Chinese side.
According to the interview by Yonhap News Agency, at 00:05 on the 20th, the height of the wave at 124 kilometers southwest of Qingdao was about 3-4 meters, and the wind speed reached 12-14 meters per second. A rescued crew member said the fishing boat suddenly tilted under the blows of the waves. Yonhap News Agency speculated that meteorological factors may be the cause of the accident. However, there are also views that considering the above conditions, it is difficult for wind and waves to capsize large fishing vessels weighing more than 200 tons, and the possibility of accidents caused by the failure of fishing vessels is not ruled out.