Off the coast of Oryukdo in Busan, a tugboat capsized while attempting to assist a cargo ship, resulting in the death of one crew member and leaving six others missing. The Coast Guard and Navy have deployed ships and aircraft for the search, while the city of Busan has activated its emergency response center.
According to the Busan Coast Guard, the 286-ton tugboat, identified as A-ho, capsized around 1:29 p.m. approximately 9 kilometers east of Oryukdo. There were eight crew members on board, including six South Koreans and two Indonesians. One Indonesian man in his 50s was rescued by a passing cargo ship, B-ho, about 20 minutes after the incident.
The Coast Guard also found a South Korean man in his 50s unconscious inside the tugboat and transported him to Minrak Port. However, despite being rushed to the hospital by emergency services, he later died. The remaining six crew members are still unaccounted for.
According to Yonhap News, A-ho departed from the Busan port at 10:15 a.m. to assist the 66,332-ton Liberian-flagged container ship B-ho, which reported the capsizing incident to the Busan Vessel Traffic Service (VTS). The tugboat is believed to have capsized while conducting the towing operation. It completely sank around 3:27 p.m., approximately two hours after the accident, in waters about 87 meters deep. The area is experiencing waves of 1 to 1.5 meters and northwesterly winds of 4 to 6 meters per second, complicating the search efforts.
The Busan Coast Guard has raised its regional response level to three and deployed 13 rescue boats, along with aircraft and the Central Maritime Special Rescue Team. The Navy is also assisting with the search, deploying the Gwangyang and fast patrol boats, destroyers, rescue ships, minesweepers, and two aircraft.
Both the government and local authorities are fully committed to the rescue efforts. President Lee Jae-myung has instructed that all available resources be mobilized for rescue operations. Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung has also directed relevant agencies to immediately deploy all equipment and personnel for a swift rescue.
The city of Busan held an emergency meeting and activated its accident response center. According to Yonhap News, the city has dispatched on-site liaison officers to the Oryukdo coast and assigned dedicated officials to assist the families of the missing. Integrated support centers have been established in Nam-gu and Haeundae-gu, while Dong-gu, where the shipping company is located, has set up a local disaster safety headquarters.
Busan plans to provide tailored psychological counseling and support programs for victims and their families, as well as emergency interpretation services for foreign victims. The Coast Guard and other agencies will continue searching for the six missing crew members while investigating the exact cause and circumstances of the accident.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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