“I’ve confirmed survival till dawn”… 7 sailors on Jeju abalone fishing boats disappeared

A fishing boat with seven crew members has been overturned in Jeju waters, and a search for missing persons has been carried out for the second day.

The Jeju Maritime Police Agency announced on the 30th that 32 min-hos (39 tons, 7 crew members), a trawler ship in Jeju City, were overturned due to bad weather and all crew members disappeared.

At 7:44 pm on the 29th, the coast guard received a report that 32 civilians had been overthrown in the 2.6km sea northwest of Jeju Port.

It was reported that at 7:27 am, 32 foreign sailors made a request to a foreign seafarer management company located in Busan City for rescue.

Afterwards, a stopover report was filed at the Busan Coast Guard.

A total of 7 people were on board, including Captain Kim Mo (55), 4 Koreans and 3 Indonesians.

Through a phone call with the sailors, the sea police confirmed that at the time of the accident, 5 sailors (2 Koreans and 3 Indonesians) were in the lower cabin of the stern side of the overturned ship, and the remaining 2 Korean sailors were in the wheelhouse.

The coast guard could not find an abalone fishing boat due to bad weather at night. At 9:8 pm, the sea police found an abalone fishing boat 1.6 km northwest of Jeju Port through a Jeju Coast Guard helicopter.

The Coast Guard mobilized helicopters (B-521), coastal rescue boats (S-25), and private fishing boats to begin search and rescue operations. Navy ships and Jeju Island administrative lines were also mobilized.

At 9:21 p.m., a rescuer climbed into the accident fishing boat and performed a strike test by knocking on the hull, confirming that there was a survival reaction on board.

Marine rescue teams, commandos, and air rescue teams attempted to enter the ship eight times from 9:52 to rescue crew members on board, but strong waves of 4 to 5 m high, strong winds of 16 to 18 m per second, severe turbulence, and overturned ships. The spilled nets and other fishing gear were scattered around 30m, so rescuers could not enter the hull.

They asked for assistance from the towing specialized vessels 306 Daeryong and 207 Hwangryong, waiting at Jeju Port, and tried to rescue, but returned to high waves.

Safety measures such as installing a lift bag to prevent the sinking of the overturned fishing boat were carried out, and the safety of crew members on board the ship was frequently checked through the strike signal inside the ship.

The next day, 11 calls were made until 3:13 a.m. to confirm the survival of the crew, but the overturned ship was adrift with strong winds and high waves. At 3:47 a.m., it was damaged after aground on the western breakwater of Jeju Port, and 7 sailors were missing All.

The coastal view is still in bad weather and needs confirmation, but it is estimated that the current fishing boat has sunk.

The Coast Guard estimates the cause of the accident as an overturn due to bad weather.

After the search and rescue is completed, the exact cause of the accident will be investigated through precise scrutiny.

The Coast Guard is currently searching for a total of 9 ships (8 ships, 1 civilian fishing boat) and 1 helicopter to search the seas of 6.1 km east-west and 5.9 km north-south, centering on Jeju Port.

A total of 935 people were put on land as of 9 a.m., and they searched for the coastal section of Samyang-dong from Sasupo-gu, Jeju-si, but no crew was found.

Only part of the hull debris was found on the shore where it was stranded.

Currently, the weather conditions in the accident area are not very good.

Strong wind warnings have been in effect all over Jeju, and storm warnings are in effect on the entire coast of Jeju. Strong winds of 12 to 20 m per second and high waves of 4 to 5 m per second are rising in the area of ​​the accident.

Two rescuers were injured and two high-speed boats were flooded, and they are having a lot of difficulty in the search.

Cheon-shik Lee, head of the security and safety section of the Jeju Maritime Police Agency, said, “We will do our best to mobilize all rescue resources to find the missing person in the near future.”

He also said, “I informed the crew members of the accident through the shipowner after the accident. I contacted the Indonesian crew through the embassy,” he said. “I would like to express my condolences to the families of the missing persons who encountered the unfortunate accident.”

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