A 286-ton tugboat carrying eight crew members capsized off Oryukdo Island in Busan, leaving one dead and six missing. The Coast Guard deployed patrol vessels and aircraft to search for the missing, but high waves and swift currents are hampering the operation.
A report came in at about 1:29 p.m. on the 2nd that the T&S Catcher, a 286-ton tugboat registered in Busan, had capsized in waters about 9 kilometers southeast of Oryukdo Island, according to the Busan Coast Guard Station. Six Korean and two Indonesian crew members, eight in all, were aboard.
One Indonesian crew member was rescued by a cargo ship passing through the accident area and is not in life-threatening condition. One Korean crew member was pulled from inside the overturned vessel by the Central Special Sea Rescue Team but was unconscious. The crew member was taken by coastal rescue boat to Millak Port and then to a nearby hospital, but later died. The remaining six crew members are missing.
The T&S Catcher floated with only part of its hull above the surface before sinking completely at about 3:27 p.m. The water depth in the accident area was put at about 87 meters. The Coast Guard is widening the surface search area around the sinking point while also considering an underwater search, given the possibility that the missing crew members remain inside the hull.
The vessel left the government vessel wharf at Busan Port at about 10:15 a.m. and was heading to tow a merchant ship, identified as M, in the accident area, investigators said. The merchant ship M then confirmed that the T&S Catcher had capsized and reported it to the Busan Port vessel traffic service center. The Coast Guard is looking into whether the accident occurred before towing began or during the towing itself.
The Busan Coast Guard has deployed 13 vessels, including patrol ships and coastal rescue boats, along with its aviation unit and the Central Special Sea Rescue Team, to search for the missing. It has also requested support from navy ships, government vessels and private boats. Northwesterly winds of 4 to 6 meters per second and waves of 1 to 1.5 meters in the accident area are making the search difficult. The Coast Guard plans to continue searching through the night using flares and searchlights.
The government has instructed related agencies to mobilize all available resources for the rescue and response. President Lee Jae-myung, after being briefed on the accident, called for an all-out effort to save lives. Prime Minister Han Seong-sook also ordered the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Coast Guard to mobilize all available equipment and personnel, including patrol vessels and underwater search and rescue divers, and asked the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of National Defense and the Busan city government to actively support the rescue operation.
The Coast Guard has raised its regional rescue headquarters response level from stage two to stage three and is continuing the search. Once the rescue operation is completed, it plans to question those connected to the vessel to determine the exact cause of the capsizing, examining the ship's track and operating conditions after departure, weather and sea conditions at the time, and how the vessel was loaded.
