The Korea Coast Guard conducted a nighttime search to find six crew members missing after a tugboat capsized off Busan, but did not find them.
According to the Busan Maritime Police Station on the 3rd, a nighttime search was carried out from 7 p.m. on the previous day to 6 a.m. on the day, but the missing were not found.
The nighttime search deployed 11 Korea Coast Guard patrol boats and coastal rescue boats, the aviation unit, the Central Marine Special Rescue Unit, and four government vessels. Military assets also supported the search, including four Navy ships, the Gwangyang ROV (remotely operated vehicle), two Air Force aircraft, and four military surveillance devices.
The waters near where the tugboat sank were divided into about 15 zones, roughly 25 kilometers wide and 12 kilometers long, for an overnight search. About 270 illumination flares were dropped, but the missing were not found. The search is reportedly facing difficulties because the water depth at the accident site reaches 87 meters and the currents are fast.
The 286-ton tugboat A capsized at about 1:29 p.m. on the previous day in waters about 9 kilometers southeast of Oryukdo. Of the eight crew members on board—six Koreans and two Indonesians—an Indonesian national, a foreign crew member identified as A, was rescued. One Korean crew member was also found unconscious and taken to a hospital but died. The vessel completely sank at about 3:27 p.m., roughly two hours after the accident.