A commercial fishing boat collided with a small cargo vessel southeast of Seoul, South Korea on Monday morning.
According to Maritime Executive, the South Korean Coast Guard assisted the Navy in a massive search and rescue operation. Reportedly, 15 Coast Guard vessels were deployed on the mission. Likewise, six additional helicopters were involved in the search. Moreover, South Korea's Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was involved in ordering the emergency rescue operation after news o0f the collision made its way to up the chain of command.
While circumstances of the collision have not been released, it has been confirmed that the 29-ton fishing boat, named the Geungwang, capsized after the accident. That vessel was carrying eight crew members. During the search and rescue, seven of the eight were recovered. All seven of those crew members were pronounced dead at the hospital, after being transported there. Notably, the eighth crew member, an Indonesian man, has yet to be accounted for, although search efforts continue.
The fishing boat, which had capsized, was also located, still overturned. The cargo vessel with which the fishermen had collided with was said to be undamaged. Reports indicated that the cargo vessel is a sand barge, and held a crew of ten sailors. Zero of those crew members were reported as injured.
Of the deceased fishermen, three were South Korean, and four were reported to be foreigners, although specific nationalities had not been specified.
Fishing Boat Capsizes After Colliding With Sand Barge South Of Seoul
Life as a commercial fisherman can certainly be a dangerous one. Earlier this spring, a commercial fisherman was found deceased in a crashed fishing boat. The boat had crashed at Point Reyes, California in March. Likewise, in May, a 73-foot fishing boat collided with a pier, as well as several other vessels, west of Seattle's Ballard Bridge.
And while not a fishing vessel, the container ship called the "Dali" knocked over Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in late March. When the bridge collapsed, six road workers died, as a result of the disaster. The video of the incident went extremely viral almost immediately.
Regardless of fishing vessel, or otherwise, sailors lead a dangerous life, and Monday's accident south of Seoul was certainly a reminder of that fact.
