Rescuers of the Gyeongbuk Pohang Maritime Police Station are rescuing a sailor Ryumo (left) who dramatically survived on the Guryong Lake, an overturned red crab fishing boat off the coast of Gampo Port, Gyeongju at around 10:23 am on the 21st. Pohang Maritime Police Station
“What happened to our sailors?”
Ryumo, 49, was trapped in an overturned ship at around 10:23 am on the 21st and was dramatically rescued after 40 hours. As soon as he was supported by a rescue crew and boarded a rescue boat, he first asked how his fellow sailors were. “We’re searching,” said the sea police officer, who couldn’t talk any more. Unfortunately, as of 4 p.m. on this day, no news of additional survival has been heard. One suspected Vietnamese sailor was found dead before Mr. Ryu. The remaining four are missing.
Something like a miracle happened. Ryu, a sailor of the red crab fishing vessel Georyong-ho (9.77 tons), overturned off the coast of Gampo Port, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk on the 19th, was rescued by a marine diver who started searching the inside of the hull at around 10:23 am on the 21st, 40 hours after the accident. . It was 2 hours after the first dive started at 8:11 am on the third day of the search.
At the time of discovery, Ryu was conscious, but communication was difficult due to hypothermia. He was taken to the hospital by helicopter and regained consciousness this afternoon.
A rescuer at the Pohang Maritime Police Station in Gyeongsangbuk-do is retrieving Mr. Ryumo (right), a crew member of the Georyong-ho, who was rescued dramatically after 40 hours after being trapped in a ship. Pohang Maritime Police Station
The Pohang Coast Guard found Mr. Ryu at 9:57 am in a fishing gear warehouse (fishing window) at the back of the ship in a third attempt after the rollover accident. Eochang is 2.5m wide, 2m long, and 1.5m deep, and 3 adults can lie down. This fishing rig, which stores nets and traps, was 15.3m long and was large for a 9.77-ton red crab fishing boat. Even in the warehouse, Mr. Ryu was shaking while crouching on an upside down shelf.
The coast guard was equipped with equipment to maintain Ryu’s breathing and body temperature, and then entered the fourth car and succeeded in rescue at around 10:23 am. It was about 40 hours after the accident.
It seems that Ryu’s safe rescue was thanks to the air pockets formed in the fishing rig due to the sudden turnover of the fishing boat. This ship is a new ship of 3 years old. It was made of glass fiber reinforced plastic (FRP), so the air pocket was maintained. In addition, Mr. Ryu could sit on the shelf inside the fish window, avoiding the cold sea water.
“The water temperature in the area of the accident is 12.6 degrees Celsius, and the 2 hour survival rate for highly trained personnel like us is about 50%,” said Lee Seong-hee, head of the Pohang Maritime Police Station. The explanation is that even if there is oxygen to breathe in the air pocket, life or death could not be guaranteed if the body was submerged in water.
Rescuers of the Gyeongbuk Pohang Maritime Police Station approach the overturned Georyong Lake and attempt to search the hull. Pohang Maritime Police Station
As a result of the maritime police investigation, it was found that Ryu failed to escape due to being caught in a net after entering the warehouse at the time of the accident. Shelves were the places where water couldn’t be reached in the warehouse, and thanks to this, they were able to be rescued dramatically.
The accident happened on the 19th at 6:49 pm, when the Georyong Lake, which was operating under a storm warning at the sea 43km east of Gampo Port, Gyeongju, suddenly turned over. The Georyong-ho left Guryongpo Port at about 3 am on the day of the accident. There were 6 sailors in total, including two Korean sailors, including the missing captain and Ryu, one Chinese Korean, and three Vietnamese sailors.
The Coast Guard has so far mobilized 22 maritime and naval vessels, 2 government ships, 10 aircraft, and 2 civilian marine rescue vessels to mobilize a large-scale rescue. They even went on a night search with flares, but suffered from bad weather. On the 20th, a lift bag was installed to prevent the sinking of the hull, and on the 21st, when the wind was calm, a diver was sent to find Ryu after a search. However, as the waves rise again on this day, the search inside the hull has been temporarily suspended from 12:08 p.m., and only the nearby sea areas are being searched.
Pohang= Jeonghye Kim reporter [email protected]
Pohang= Jeong Kwang-jin reporter [email protected]
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