Vietnamese crewman dies in boat fire off South Korean coast

The Yonhap newspaper reported the same day that the 85-ton vessel had 12 crew members on board when the accident happened.

The fire broke out at approximately 10:25 a.m. off Oenaro Island, 6.4 kilometers northeast of South Korea’s South Jeolla Province.

One Vietnamese man was found dead in a toilet at the boat’s tail. The injured Vietnamese, suffering burns, was taken to a local hospital. A Chinese crew member, still missing, is believed to have jumped off the boat when the fire broke out.

South Korean authorities are investigating the accident and looking for the missing Chinese crewman.

The two Vietnamese victims are from the central province of Quang Binh. The dead one came to South Korea as a guest worker in November 2016 and the other in January last year, the Vietnam News Agency reported.