▲ A photo, provided by the Mokpo Coast Guard Station, shows authorities searching for the missing after a fishing boat was capsized in waters northeast of Gageo Island off Mokpo, 309 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on June 13, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

fishing boat-arrest

Two Chinese sailors booked over fishing boat crash off southwestern coast

MOKPO, South Korea, June 14 (Yonhap) -- Two Chinese sailors were booked on charges of crashing into a fishing boat and fleeing without offering assistance in waters off South Korea's southwestern coast, leaving two sailors missing and its captain dead, the Coast Guard said Friday.

The two Chinese nationals were in charge of the night shift while sailing a 9,734-ton container ship when it collided with a 33-ton fishing trawler in waters northeast of Gageo Island off Mokpo, 309 kilometers southwest of Seoul, at around midnight Wednesday. They allegedly fled the scene without taking rescue measures.

The crash left the boat capsized, leaving its Korean captain dead, and two Indonesian sailors missing.

Six others were rescued by nearby fishing boats after hanging on to floating objects for some four hours.

Under the Maritime Safety Act, a sailing ship carries an obligation to keep away from a ship during fishing operations.

The survivors told the Coast Guard that the container ship did not change course despite them sounding a warning horn.

The Coast Guard has put the two Chinese sailors under emergency arrest and is interrogating others aboard the container ship, including its captain.

The Coast Guard has towed the fishing boat out of the water and plans to put it upright and examine its interior.

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