SEOUL, Feb 1 (NNN-YONHAP) – One person was confirmed dead and three others went missing today, after two fishing boats carrying 15 crew members, ran aground in waters off South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju.
It was reported to the coast guard at about 9:24 a.m. local time (0024 GMT) that, a 32-tonne fishing vessel, with seven people on board and a 29-tonne vessel carrying eight, were stranded in waters off the island.
Twelve people were rescued around noon (0300 GMT), and three remained unaccounted for.
Among the rescued, captain of the 32-tonne vessel, in his 50s, was taken in cardiac arrest to a hospital, while receiving first-aid treatment, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but he died later.
The others showed symptoms of hypothermia, but it was not a life-threatening injury.
The captains of both vessels were South Koreans, while the other crew members were foreigners, such as Vietnamese and Indonesians.
Search and rescue operations are underway for the missing crew members.– NNN-YONHAP
