'Replied "I love you" but no response came back
Seonsa: "Checked the forecast but the weather on site is worse"'
A South Korean-flagged vessel capsized in Japanese waters, resulting in multiple fatalities. Among them, the 60-year-old captain who stayed with the ship until the end reportedly sent a text message to his wife saying "I love you" just before the accident, adding to the tragedy.
On the morning of the 20th, a Korean-registered cargo ship carrying chemical products capsized off the coast of Mutsure Island, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 21st, Mr. A, a family member of the captain, met with reporters in front of the headquarters of Geoyoung Shipping in Choryang-dong, Dong-gu, Busan, and stated, "Around 7:30 a.m., just before the ship capsized, the captain sent a text message to his wife saying, 'Honey, I love you.'" The wife, unaware of the accident at the time, replied, "I love you too," but received no response from her husband. About two hours later, she sent another message asking, "Is everything okay?" but her husband never read the message. The captain’s message was sent at 7:25 a.m. Considering that the distress call was received around 7:05 a.m. on the day of the accident, it appears the captain sent the message to his wife in a tense situation immediately after the capsizing.
Mr. A said, "The captain had a very close family relationship," and added, "He has two children and they are at home crying, unable to go to work." He also mentioned, "The captain used to say, 'If an accident happens, I will take care of everything and be the last to leave,'" and speculated, "It seems he evacuated the crew first during this accident, which might have delayed the rescue." Meanwhile, Mr. B, a bereaved family member of the deceased engineer, said, "I pay my respects to the captain who stayed on the ship until the end after evacuating all the crew and was found deceased in the cabin." The families also expressed their gratitude to everyone who helped in relation to this accident.
At around 7 a.m. on the 20th, the 870-ton chemical product transport vessel involved in the accident sent a distress call reporting that the ship was tilting in the sea about 8 km north-northwest of Mutsure Island, Shimonoseki City. There were 11 people on board: 2 Koreans, 8 Indonesians, and 1 Chinese. The Japan Coast Guard, which received the report, dispatched five vessels including patrol ships and boats to conduct rescue operations, rescuing 9 out of the 11 people and transporting them to hospitals. However, 8 people died. After deploying additional patrol ships and a special rescue team to search for the remaining two missing persons, the Coast Guard found one more body on the 21st. One rescued Indonesian is reported to be in stable condition without life-threatening injuries.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
