Coast guard officials monitor the collision of two South Korean fishing boats off Japan.[Yonhap News Photo]
SEOUL -- Three foreign sailors went missing Thursday in the collision of two South Korean fishing boats in international waters off Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's main islands.
The 289-ton 101 Geumyang-ho sank with 38 crewmen aboard, including seven from South Korea, 18 from Indonesia, seven from Vietnam and six from the Philippines, after it collided with the 411-ton 803 Tongyeong-ho, according to coastguard authorities.
South Korean ships rescued 35 people but three other foreigners remained unaccounted for. The sunken ship has been fishing for mackerels in the North Pacific ocean.
A Japanese patrol ship and South Korean fishing vessels were involved in a rescue operation. The identities of those missing were not disclosed.
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