A tugboat capsized and sank off South Korea's southeastern coast on Wednesday, leaving one crew member dead and six others missing. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
According to a coast guard statement, the 286-ton tugboat departed Wednesday morning to tow a merchant vessel in the waters off the southeastern city of Busan. It was carrying eight crew members.
After the tugboat overturned, one crew member, an Indonesian, was rescued by the merchant vessel. Another crew member, a South Korean, was found unconscious by coast guard rescuers and taken to a hospital on the mainland, where he was declared dead.
The coast guard and navy sent vessels, aircraft and other assets to rescue the six remaining crew members who are still missing. President Lee Jae Myung ordered authorities to mobilize all available resources.
The coast guard said the tugboat eventually sank at around 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT), about two hours after the capsizing was reported. The cause of the capsizing wasn't immediately known.