Tugboat sinks off South Korea’s southern coast, leaving 1 dead and 6 missing

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A tugboat capsized and sank off South Korea’s southeastern coast on Wednesday, leaving one crew member dead and six others missing, the coast guard said.

The 286-ton tugboat was carrying eight crew members when it departed Wednesday morning to tow a merchant vessel in the waters off South Korea’s southeastern city of Busan, the coast guard said in a statement.

After the tugboat overturned, one crew member, an Indonesian, was rescued by the merchant vessel. Another of the crew, a South Korean, was discovered unconscious by coast guard rescuers before being sent to a hospital on the mainland and declared dead there, the coast guard said.

The coast guard and the navy sent vessels, aircraft and other assets to rescue the six remaining crew members who are still missing, according to the coast guard. 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.