▲ First body of a missing person found 7 days after the Busan tugboat capsizing accident
The body of one of the six crew members reported missing following the capsizing of the tugboat TNS Catcher off the coast of Busan on the 2nd was found yesterday (the 9th).
This marks seven days since the accident occurred.
According to the Coast Guard, at around 8:48 a.m. yesterday, a Korean crew member in his 50s, surnamed A, from the TNS Catcher was found dead on the beach near Dogu Beach in Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
It was reported that a sanitation worker discovered the body on the beach in front of a portable restroom while working and reported it.
The Coast Guard confirmed through digital forensics on a mobile phone and smart watch found with the body, as well as fingerprint identification, that the body belonged to missing crew member A of the TNS Catcher.
Crew member A was the second engineer of the TNS Catcher.
It reportedly took more than 12 hours for his identity to be confirmed.
The Coast Guard explained, "General fingerprint identification made it impossible to verify the identity, and we confirmed the final identity through a one-on-one precision comparison between the fingerprints of the deceased and the second engineer."
The TNS Catcher capsized on the 2nd while towing the container ship M, which was immobilized due to an engine failure, in waters about 9 km east of Oryukdo, Busan.
At the time of the incident, eight people were on board the TNS Catcher, including six South Koreans and two Indonesians.
Among them, one Indonesian crew member was rescued, while one South Korean was found unconscious and later died.
The remaining six were missing, and search operations had been underway.
The rescued Indonesian crew member stated that he saw another crew member jumping out of the TNS Catcher at the time of the accident, and the Coast Guard believes this person was crew member A.
The location where crew member A was found is more than 100 km away from the waters where the accident occurred.
It is believed he drifted there due to currents.
As a result of the Coast Guard analyzing CCTV footage from the container ship M, it was determined that two of the six missing crew members from the TNS Catcher escaped from the interior immediately after the capsizing accident and fell into the sea.
The Coast Guard has been searching the waters of the accident for the 8th day, but is facing difficulties due to worsening weather conditions such as high waves and strong winds.
The Coast Guard stated, "To find the remaining 5 people, we have expanded the search area as far as the Donghae Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, which has jurisdiction over Gangwon and Gyeongsangbuk-do."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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