Five Still Missing... Nighttime Search Underway
The hull of the Je22Seogyeongho, which sank while carrying 14 crew members en route to a fishing site, has been found on the seabed.
According to Yeosu Coast Guard on the 9th, the location of the Je22Seogyeongho hull was confirmed around 3:54 p.m. that day near Habeakdo, Samsan-myeon, Yeosu-si, Jeollanam-do. Search authorities reportedly discovered the sunken hull on the seabed at a depth of 80 meters using the Navy's underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
One missing person was found inside the vessel, but their condition is unknown. No additional traces of other missing persons were found during the internal search using the ROV.
The seabed where the hull was found is approximately 370 meters away from the last known location of the Je22Seogyeongho.
Authorities plan to discuss hull salvage measures with the shipowner and others to rescue the missing persons inside and investigate the cause of the sinking.
The Je22Seogyeongho, a 139-ton trawl fishing vessel registered in Busan, lost contact around 1:41 a.m. that day when its Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal was cut off about 17 km offshore from Habeakdo, Samsan-myeon, Yeosu-si. The Je22Seogyeongho, which was moving to a fishing site near Heuksan-myeon, Sinan-gun, had a total of 14 crew members: 8 Koreans, 3 Vietnamese, and 3 Indonesians.
So far, four Koreans including the captain have died, one person was found inside the hull on the seabed, and five remain missing. Four foreign crew members (2 Vietnamese and 2 Indonesians) among the crew survived by drifting on a liferaft with the deceased captain.
The search for the missing is being conducted by dividing a 28 km wide by 19 km long radius into four zones. The search, involving 24 patrol vessels, 5 related agency ships, 2 Navy ships, 1 aircraft, and 15 civilian fishing vessels, continues through the night.
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