Search under way for 1 missing after fishing boat capsizes off southeastern coast

Search and rescue operations for the last missing person were under way for the second day Tuesday after a boat capsized off the southeastern coast, the Coast Guard said.

The 29-ton fishing boat carrying eight crew members capsized after colliding with a 456-ton sand barge in waters near Gyeongju, about 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Monday, leaving seven crew members dead.

Seven people — three South Koreans and four foreign nationals — were rescued in a state of cardiac arrest and taken to hospitals but later pronounced dead.

The Coast Guard mobilized patrol ships and helicopters to continue the search for the remaining person, who is an Indonesian national, as of Tuesday morning.

Authorities initially attempted to pull the capsized boat to a nearby port Monday in order to look for the missing person but were unsuccessful due to nets entangled in the wreckage. (Yonhap)