Jeju Abalone Fishing Boat Crew Struggles to Rescue... Search Difficult Despite Confirmed Survival Signal

On the afternoon of the 29th, the Jeju Coast Guard rescue team and special forces, who launched a rescue operation for the 32 Minho capsized off the coast of Jeju Island, are approaching the accident vessel. Photo by Jeju Coast Guard Headquarters

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Hwang Jeong-pil] The rescue of crew members aboard a fishing vessel that capsized off the coast of Jeju Island on the 29th is facing difficulties. Although survival signals were confirmed inside the vessel, the fishing boat is damaged, and search and rescue operations are slow due to bad weather conditions.

According to the Jeju Coast Guard on the 30th, at around 7:44 p.m. the previous day, the 32 Myeong-min (39 tons, 7 crew members), a purse seine fishing vessel registered in Hallim, Jeju City, capsized about 2.6 km northwest of Jeju Port.

The 32 Myeong-min had an accident about three hours after departing from Seongsan Port in Seogwipo City. It was confirmed that seven people were on board, including Captain Kim (age 55), four Korean crew members, and three foreign crew members.

For the search and rescue of lives, five Coast Guard vessels, one helicopter, Navy ships, and Jeju administrative vessels were fully mobilized.

The Coast Guard reported that about 1 hour and 30 minutes after receiving the accident report, at around 9:11 p.m. the previous day, a helicopter discovered the overturned 32 Myeong-min about 1.3 km north of Jeju Port and immediately dispatched a rescue team.

At around 9:21 p.m., when a Coast Guard rescuer attempted a tapping test by knocking on the hull of the accident vessel, a survival response was detected inside the vessel.

Subsequently, to prevent the vessel from sinking, several lift bags (air bags that add buoyancy to the boat) were installed, and rescuers equipped with diving gear attempted to enter the vessel more than four times, but the situation was difficult due to severe weather.

At the time of the accident, the sea area was experiencing rain and wind with speeds of 15 to 17 meters per second, and waves were rising 4 to 5 meters high.

A Coast Guard official explained, “It was nighttime, making visibility difficult, and combined with strong winds and high swells, as well as fishing gear such as nets spilled around the overturned vessel, we could not enter the hull.”

Moreover, at around 4 a.m. on the day of the accident, the damaged fishing vessel was pushed by high waves and collided with the breakwater of Jeju Port, causing partial damage and accelerating the golden time for rescue.

The Coast Guard official stated, “Although the 32 Myeong-min is damaged, it has not sunk. Currently, due to strong winds and swells, it is difficult to approach the hull, so we are focusing on searching for lives rather than towing the vessel.”

He added, “We offer our condolences to the families of the missing who have received this unfortunate news, and we will do our utmost to find the missing by mobilizing all rescue resources.”

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