Fishing boat sinks in South Korea, 9 Chinese sailors missing

A Cambodian fishing boat sank off South Korea's Ulleung Island, leaving 12 people missing, including nine Chinese.

According to Xinhua News Agency, this morning, February 21, the Korean Coast Guard received a distress signal from a Cambodian fishing boat. The news said the boat weighed 296 tons and was carrying 12 sailors. At that time, the boat was 548km northeast of Ulleung Island.

South Korean Coast Guard rescues a sailor of a Chinese fishing boat (center) in distress in October 2012 - Photo: AFP

The South Korean Coast Guard dispatched four ships and three patrol aircraft to the accident site and searched for the missing sailors, and requested assistance from Russia and Japan in the rescue operation. Japan also sent two patrol ships and two aircraft.

The ship departed from a port in Japan two days ago and was headed to the port of Sokcho in South Korea. The cause of the sinking and the fate of the missing sailors are still unknown.

According to Tuoi Tre - DT