Vietnamese rescued as fishing boat sinks off South Korea, killing three

Three other crew members died and one remained missing.

The South Korean Coast Guard said that the vessel, which had onboard four South Koreans, six Indonesians, and one Vietnamese citizen, went down in the waters approximately 4.6 nautical miles south of Yokji Island.

The 139-ton vessel issued a distress call around 4:12 a.m., Yonhap reported.

Following the distress signal, the Coast Guard discovered three South Korean crew members in an unconscious state, including the ship's captain. Despite being rushed to the hospital, all three were later declared deceased.

A captain is one of the victims, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

The seven survivors sustained injuries, though not life-threatening. The whereabouts of one South Korean crew member remain unknown.

The boat was en route back to shore after completing a fishing shift. It had initially set sail from Dongho Port on Tongyeong City's southern coastline on Wednesday evening.

The Coast Guard has launched a search operation for the missing crew member, deploying 16 Coast Guard vessels, two naval ships, two additional ships from different agencies, and three aircraft.

Authorities have confirmed the complete sinking of the vessel. The area of the accident is estimated to be 60 m deep.

Korea JoongAng Daily reported, citing an announcement from South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, that a total of 3,092 marine accidents happened in the country last year, leaving 94 people dead or missing.