A 139-ton fishing trawler with 14 people aboard went missing off South Korea’s southern coast at 1:41 a.m. on Sunday, February 9, 2025. By Monday, five of the crew were dead and five more had not been found.
The Coast Guard said it located the vessel on the seabed at a depth of about 80 meters. It had gone down in waters roughly 17 kilometers east of Habaek island, near Yeosu, about 315 km south of Seoul. The trawler had left Gamcheon port in Busan on Saturday to fish near Heuksan island in South Jeolla Province.
Who was aboard
Eight South Koreans, three Vietnamese and three Indonesians made up the crew. Rescuers first pulled eight men from the water: five were found on a life raft and the rest were drifting in freezing seas. Four of those eight, including the captain, were later pronounced dead. The captain was 66.
On Monday the death toll rose to five after rescuers retrieved the body of another crew member, Yonhap News reported. Four crew members survived.
The two rescued Indonesians were taken to the Coast Guard’s office in Yeosu to be interviewed about what happened. The Vietnamese survivors went to a nearby hospital with signs of hypothermia.
A sinking with no distress call
The Coast Guard said the vessel appears to have capsized after tilting heavily to its left, based on what the rescued Vietnamese crew members told investigators. “Excluding three people inside the ship, all 11 other crew members jumped into the sea,” it said in a briefing.
The cause is still being looked into. Waves were 2.5 meters high and the weather was poor, but the Coast Guard considers it unusual for a vessel of more than 100 tons to capsize in those conditions. The trawler was travelling with four other fishing vessels and sent no distress signal, which led investigators to suspect the sinking came without warning.
The search
On Sunday the Coast Guard had 24 patrol ships, four Navy vessels, 13 aircraft and other civilian and agency ships searching. During that morning’s effort, one of its own high-speed boats capsized in high waves, though all six people aboard were picked up by another Coast Guard vessel.
By Monday, the second consecutive day of what the Coast Guard called an around-the-clock operation, the search involved 21 patrol ships, four aircraft, three Navy ships and 15 private fishing boats. Authorities also used remotely operated vehicles to search around the wreck.
Sources
- Search continues for 5 people missing after fishing trawler sinks off South Korea’s coast
- (4th LD) Sunken fishing trawler found on seabed with 1 crewman inside; 4 dead, 5 missing | Yonhap News Agency
