One Missing Person Found in Tugboat Accident Off Busan... Search Area Expanded

[Financial News] One of the six missing persons from the capsizing of the tugboat TNS Catcher off the coast of Busan on the 2nd was found dead eight days after the accident. The Coast Guard has expanded the search area to include waters off Gangwon and Gyeongbuk regions to find the remaining five missing persons.
The Busan Coast Guard announced on the 10th that a missing person was found dead on the beach near Dogu Beach in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, on the 9th. According to the Coast Guard, at 8:48 a.m. on the 9th, a sanitation worker discovered a deceased person on the beach in front of a makeshift restroom and reported it. Upon receiving the report, the Coast Guard secured the deceased's belongings and proceeded with the identification process.
As a result of fingerprint analysis of the deceased, it was confirmed to be Mr. A (56), the second engineer who went missing at the time of the capsizing accident. Since identification was impossible through standard fingerprint analysis, the Coast Guard confirmed the identity through a detailed one-on-one analysis of the deceased's fingerprints against those of the second engineer.
The Coast Guard expanded the search area to include the Donghae Regional Coast Guard, which covers Gangwon and Gyeongbuk provinces, after one of the six missing persons was found eight days after the accident. On the 10th, the Coast Guard is conducting a daytime search using 16 vessels and 5 aircraft. Underwater search operations are not being conducted due to deteriorating weather conditions. For coastal and shoreline searches, personnel from police substations in Busan, Ulsan, Pohang, and Uljin County, North Gyeongsang Province, as well as military staff, have been deployed.
On the 8th, the Coast Guard raided five companies, including Shipping Company A and Association B, as well as the towed vessel involved in the capsizing of the TNS Catcher. They formed an investigation headquarters with 41 investigators and are currently investigating the cause of the accident by analyzing evidence obtained through the raids.
The accident began on the afternoon of the 2nd at 1:29 p.m. when the 286-ton tugboat TNS Catcher capsized about 9 km southeast of Oryukdo Islets, Busan. Two people were rescued at the time, but one South Korean crew member, who was rescued unconscious and transferred to a hospital, eventually died.
At the time, there were a total of 8 crew members on board the TNS Catcher, including 6 Koreans and 2 Indonesians. Currently, 5 are missing.

[email protected] Baek Chang-hoon Reporter