Tugboat Capsizes and Sinks Off Busan Waters: 1 Dead, 6 Missing

[Anchor]

A tugboat capsized and sank off the waters of Oryukdo Island in Busan earlier today (Sept. 2). Out of the eight crew members on board, two have been rescued so far, but one has died. The government is making all-out efforts to search for the six missing persons.

Choi Han-sol from KNN reports.

[Reporter]

A vessel can be seen overturned next to a large container ship, with only its bow remaining above water.

A crew member is precariously standing on top of it, waiting for rescue.

[Korea Coast Guard Rescue Worker: Right now, what we can see is one person. One person is on the bottom, standing on top of the bottom of the hull.]

At around 1:30 p.m. today, a 286-ton tugboat capsized in the waters 9 kilometers east of Oryukdo Island, Busan.

Two hours after the accident occurred, it sank to a depth of 87 meters.

The vessel had departed from the Port of Busan and met with the accident while going to tow a Liberian-flagged container ship located in the accident waters.

There were eight people on board, including six South Korean crew members and two Indonesian nationals.

Of the two people rescued so far, an Indonesian national was rescued safely, but a South Korean crew member in his 40s, surnamed A, ultimately passed away.

[Rescued Crew Member (Indonesian): I was in charge of cooking, and while cooking (when the ship flipped over), I escaped quickly.]

While the Coast Guard has mobilized all available resources, including 13 rescue vessels and a special rescue team, for the rescue operations, high waves in the waters near Oryukdo are reportedly hindering the rescue efforts.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Navy have also mobilized available assets to handle the accident.

[Ahn Chul-ho / Head of Guard and Rescue Division, Busan Coast Guard: Although underwater search and conditions are difficult, we will cooperate with related agencies during the night and actively search by mobilizing all available resources.]

The Coast Guard and other authorities plan to continue search operations through the night while investigating the exact cause of the accident.

(Video by: Oh Won-seok, Jeon Jae-hyun / KNN, Footage provided by: Busan Coast Guard)

Choi Han-sol, KNN
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.