Busan: A tugboat capsized in waters off the southeastern city of Busan, resulting in the death of one crew member while six others remain missing, the Coast Guard reported. The incident occurred on Wednesday when the 286-ton vessel, which included six South Korean and two Indonesian crew members, overturned at 1:29 p.m. after departing from Busan Port earlier that day to tow a commercial ship.
According to Yonhap News Agency, an Indonesian crew member in his 50s was rescued by the 66,332-ton Liberia-flagged commercial vessel nearby. The Coast Guard also rescued a South Korean crew member, also in his 50s, who was found unconscious and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
The Coast Guard has committed 13 vessels to the search efforts, while the Navy has deployed the ROKS Gwangyang salvage and rescue ship along with other vessels and aircraft to assist in the operation. However, the search efforts are being hindered by challenging conditions, including waves reaching up to 1.5 meters and wind speeds of up to 6 meters per second.
The tugboat sank completely at 3:27 p.m., approximately two hours after capsizing. President Lee Jae Myung has directed authorities to utilize all available resources to aid in the search and rescue operations.