Sixty-Year-Old Sailor Missing at Sea Rescued After 12 Hours

A fisherman in his 60s who went missing from a fishing vessel while sailing was rescued after about 12 hours of being missing. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A crew member in his 60s who went missing from a fishing vessel while sailing was rescued about 12 hours after his disappearance.

According to Mokpo Maritime Police Station on the 8th, at around 3:28 a.m. that day, a report was received that K Mo (66), a crew member of the 9.77-ton fishing vessel A registered in Imja, was missing 26 km west of Imjado, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do.

In response, the coastal guard urgently dispatched four patrol boats, two coastal rescue boats, and a helicopter from the West Sea Regional Headquarters Mokpo Air Unit, and deployed search patrol vessels to search the nearby waters.

Additionally, they notified about 150 nearby fishing vessels of K’s disappearance via the emergency communication network (VHF) and requested their cooperation.

At that moment, the captain of the 7.93-ton coastal gillnet vessel B registered in Wando, who was aware of the missing crew member through the emergency communication network, spotted K holding onto a buoy.

The captain informed the maritime police of K’s discovery, and he was rescued 12 hours and 24 minutes after going missing.

It was confirmed that K was sleeping inside the boat about an hour before his disappearance but was reported missing afterward.

K was transported to the hospital with abrasions on his knees and other areas but is reported to be in stable condition without life-threatening injuries.

The maritime police plan to investigate the exact circumstances of the accident by questioning the crew and K.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.