Captain of Capsized Fishing Boat off Chagwido Island Found After 30 Hours, Dies After Hospital Transfer

【Financial News, Jeju = Reporter Jeong Yong-bok】The 58-year-old Korean captain was found inside the hull approximately 30 hours after a fishing boat capsized in the open waters off Chagwido Island, Jeju, and was transported to a hospital but pronounced dead. Nine of the 11 people aboard, all foreign crew members, were rescued, while one 27-year-old Indonesian crew member remains missing.
According to the Jeju Regional Headquarters, Korea Coast Guard, Captain A was found at approximately 9:06 a.m. on the 6th inside the capsized 29-ton-class No. 7 Seongjin, a vessel registered in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, about 65 kilometers northwest of Chagwido Island in Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju City.
Two Coast Guard rescue personnel re-entered the hull at 9 a.m. After beginning an underwater search, they found Captain A six minutes later near the entrance to the passage leading to the starboard cabin.
Captain A had no breathing or pulse when he was found. The Coast Guard moved him outside the hull, hoisted him aboard a patrol vessel, and transported him to a hospital by helicopter, but he was pronounced dead. It was approximately 30 hours after the accident.
No. 7 Seongjin capsized at approximately 3:04 a.m. the previous day, the 5th, in waters northwest of Chagwido Island. The vessel was carrying 11 people: one Korean captain, nine Indonesians, and one Vietnamese crew member.
Shortly after the accident, a fishing boat operating nearby rescued nine people, including eight Indonesians and one Vietnamese national. The rescued crew members arrived at Hallim Port the same day, and all were found to be in good health.

The remaining missing crew member is B, an Indonesian national. Survivors said Captain A was in the wheelhouse at the time of the accident, but it has not been clearly established where B was aboard the vessel immediately before it capsized.
The Coast Guard searched inside the hull twice on the first day of the accident and continued searching the surrounding waters overnight, but neither of the two missing people was found at the time.
After re-entering the hull the following morning and finding Captain A, the search is now focused solely on B. Because B's last known location has not been determined, the Coast Guard is considering both the possibility that B remains inside the hull and the possibility that B was swept into the sea as the vessel capsized.
The Coast Guard is searching the vessel and surrounding waters simultaneously while also assessing the possibility that B may have drifted, taking wind and currents into account.
The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. Based on statements from the rescued crew members and the vessel's track, the Coast Guard is examining the vessel's operation and fishing activity immediately before the capsize, as well as its condition. Investigators will also examine why the crew was reported as eight people at the time of departure when 11 people were actually aboard.
The Coast Guard continues to search the vessel and surrounding waters for the remaining Indonesian crew member.


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