5 Vietnamese rescued after boat capsizes near South Korea island

The incident happened at around 7:24 a.m. (local time), when the 33-ton vessel capsized around 20 km away from Jeju’s Seogwipo City, local coastguards said, as cited by the Yonhap News Agency.

There were five Vietnamese and five South Koreans on board at the time. Eight of them, all five Vietnamese and two South Koreans, were rescued by another fishing vessel. One of the rescued died at the hospital with cardiac arrest, while two others remain missing, Xinhua reported.

The coastguard has deployed boats and helicopters to search for the missing crew members. The cause of the incident, as well as the identities of the crew members, have not been confirmed.

Xinhua said rescue efforts were hindered by strong winds and high waves.