부산 앞바다서 8명 탄 예인선 전복…1명 구조

At the front of the Gwangalli coastline in Busan, the 'Tianse Canvas' ferry 'Tianse Tsavor' (286 tons) capsized in the 9km southeast sea. The ferry carried eight crew members, six Korean sailors and two Indonesian sailors. Following the incident at 1:49 pm, Indonesian sailor 김(53) was rescued by the nearby ship 'Muhoe', and was then transported to nearby Minlak Harbor and later taken to a nearby hospital, but passed away.

According to the Busan Marine Police, the overturned ferry was a 34m-long, 11m-wide 'Inyeon' ferry built in 2007. The ferry departed from Busan Port at 10:15 am this morning to head for the 'Muhoe' to attempt a rescue, and the accident is believed to have occurred while 'Muhoe' was underway. The 'Muhoe' then reported the overturned 'Tianse Canvas' to the Busan Port Sea Traffic Control Center (VTS).

The overturned 'Tianse Canvas' sank completely to a depth of 87m below sea level just two hours after the accident. The Indonesian sailor, 김, said he was cooking when he managed to escape, but the captain had already followed and the sea had swallowed him. He arrived at the special harbor for maritime accidents on a specialized rescue boat, was wearing a life jacket, and was rescued by the 'Muhoe' rope ladder.

The 'Muhoe' transported 김 to a nearby hospital after being rescued, but he passed away. The Busan Marine Police are investigating the exact cause of the accident. They have called on all available resources, including 13 patrol boats, helicopters, and the Central Special Rescue Team, to search the area overnight. The region's sea conditions, including waves of 1-1.5m and winds of 4-6m from the north-west, made the search difficult.

As of 4 pm today, the search area still had waves of 1-1.5m and winds of 4-6m from the north-west. The Chief of Staff of the Military and the Minister of Ocean and Fisheries have ordered the use of all available resources to rescue the six missing crew members and to do their best in the investigation of the accident.