Fishing Boat Capsizing off Chagwido Island Enters Second Day; Captain and Crew Member Still Missing Despite Overnight Search

[Financial News, Jeju—Reporter Jeong Yong-bok] The search for two people missing after a fishing boat capsized off Chagwido Island, Jeju, continued into the second day after the accident. The nine foreign crew members rescued by a nearby fishing boat arrived safely at Hallim Port, but the Korean captain and Indonesian crew member had not been found as of the morning of the 6th, despite an internal hull search and a 12-hour overnight search at sea.
According to the Jeju Regional Headquarters, Korea Coast Guard, and other agencies on the 6th, the Coast Guard and relevant authorities conducted an intensive overnight search from 6 p.m. the previous day to 6 a.m. that morning, focusing on the waters around the accident site northwest of Chagwido Island, off Hankyeong-myeon in Jeju City.
The search area extended about 37 km in both length and width around the accident site. Vessels and aircraft were deployed for the overnight search, but no news emerged of the missing people after 12 hours of searching.
The Coast Guard redeployed seven vessels and four aircraft from the morning of the 6th to continue the daytime search. The missing people are one Korean captain and one Indonesian crew member.
The accident occurred early on the 5th in waters about 65 km northwest of Chagwido Island, off Hankyeong-myeon in Jeju City. The Coast Guard received a report that the 29-ton-class No. 7 Seongjin, registered in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, had capsized. At the time, the vessel was carrying 11 people: one Korean captain, nine Indonesians and one Vietnamese national.
The 70-ton-class Hwanggeum, a Mokpo-registered fishing boat operating nearby, rescued nine foreign crew members—eight Indonesians and one Vietnamese national.

The rescued crew members arrived at Hallim Port in Jeju City aboard Hwanggeum at 11:40 a.m. on the day of the accident, the 5th. Jeju Island, together with health and firefighting authorities and the Jeju Branch of the Korean Red Cross, checked the crew members' health. None of the nine was found to have any major health problems.
Jeju Island is providing psychological support in addition to checking their health. It also plans to assign dedicated personnel to arrange transportation and provide on-site guidance if the families of the missing people arrive in Jeju.
On the first day of the accident, the main focus of the search was the inside of the capsized hull. Based on accounts from the rescued crew members, the Korean captain was believed to have been in the wheelhouse when the vessel capsized.
Coast Guard rescue personnel conducted two underwater searches to determine whether the missing people remained inside the hull, but they did not find the captain or crew member. Coast Guard vessels, a national fisheries guidance vessel, Navy vessels, civilian fishing boats and aircraft were also deployed to search the accident area and the waters around the hull.
After failing to find the missing people inside the vessel, the Coast Guard expanded the search to the waters surrounding the wreck. If they had fallen into the sea as the vessel capsized, they may have drifted with the currents and wind as time passed after the accident.
The overnight search also focused on covering a broad area in response to that possibility. Weather at the accident site was a key variable in the operation. Strong winds and waves of around 2 meters were reported there on the day of the accident. Both underwater rescuers' efforts to enter the hull and the air and sea searches were inevitably affected by the weather and wave heights.

Jeju Island also activated the Jeju City Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters immediately after the accident. A disaster field situation room was set up at the Hallim Fishing Vessel Owners Association office to oversee the search and rescue operation, support for the rescued crew members, and assistance for the families of the missing people.
Jeju Governor Wi Seong-gon visited the disaster field situation room at 11 a.m. on the day of the accident to check on the search operation.
Wi said, "Use all available capabilities and do everything possible to find the missing people," adding, "Make every effort to ensure the safety of the rescue personnel as well, and I will continue to monitor the situation to the end."
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and Hwang Jong-woo, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, also instructed relevant agencies on the day of the accident to mobilize all available personnel and equipment for the rescue effort.
The Coast Guard is also investigating the fishing operations at the time of the accident and the vessel's condition immediately before it capsized, based on statements from the rescued crew members.
The most urgent task is the search for the missing people as the operation enters its second day. Although the hull was checked twice and a broad area was searched overnight without results, the Coast Guard and relevant agencies continue searching for the Korean captain and Indonesian crew member.
[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter