Families of Victims of Vessel Capsizing View CCTV Footage: "Makes No Sense, Thorough Investigation Needed"

On the second day following the capsizing of a tugboat off the coast of Busan today (Sep. 3), the families of the missing and deceased crew members, who viewed the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the accident, called for a thorough investigation and probe into the sudden capsizing of the vessel.

Earlier today (Sep. 3), the Korea Coast Guard visited the family waiting room set up in Dong-gu, Busan, to reveal the CCTV footage capturing the moments when the ship capsized to the bereaved and missing crew members' families.

Some family members of the missing watched the footage of the accident with their hands covering their faces.

One family member of a missing person asked the Coast Guard, "As you can see from the video, it makes no sense by common standards that the ship capsized in a split second," adding, "Was there a problem with the wire connecting the merchant ship and the tugboat, or did the line get caught in the screw?"

Another family member demanded, "I have worked as a seaman myself, and a ship does not capsize so suddenly," urging, "The Coast Guard must thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident."

In response, a Coast Guard official kept cautious, stating, "We will verify the matters you mentioned as a priority," and "We can only know the detailed circumstances through investigation."

The families of the missing intensively questioned the shipping company and the Coast Guard regarding the reasons behind the capsizing, asking whether statements from the pilot aboard the container ship had been secured.

The bereaved family of the deceased second officer said, "If a problem had occurred, the ship would have sent a distress signal, but seeing how it capsized suddenly without any such thing, this is by no means an accident caused by a problem with the tugboat itself."

A family member of another officer stated, "In the video, I got the impression that the wire (towline) was suddenly pulled hard," and added, "This is an accident caused by someone's fault, and it is presumed that the wire connecting the tugboat and the merchant ship was suddenly pulled or experienced a problem."

During a press briefing held earlier today regarding the cause of the accident, the Busan Coast Guard stated, "Two tugboats were towing from the front left and right, and another was pushing from the stern," and estimated that "the TNS Catcher capsized due to the towline during the process of turning to the right."

The families of the missing gathered in the family waiting room today, anxiously waiting for rescue news while receiving updates on the search operation.

The 286-ton tugboat TNS Catcher, registered in Busan, capsized at around 1:29 PM on September 2 in waters about 9 kilometers east of Oryukdo Island, and completely sank about two hours later at 3:27 PM.

One Indonesian crew member was rescued by a merchant ship at the scene, while one South Korean crew member was found unconscious inside the vessel and transferred to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The remaining six individuals are missing, and search operations are currently underway.

(Photo: CCTV footage provided by the Busan Coast Guard, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.