Search efforts for six crew members missing after a tugboat capsized off the coast of Busan have been hampered by adverse weather conditions, according to the Coast Guard.
As of September 4, the Coast Guard began nighttime search operations at 6 p.m. the previous day but has yet to locate any of the missing individuals.
The Coast Guard planned to deploy 14 vessels to search a 30-kilometer by 49-kilometer area, focusing on the site where the tugboat TNS Catcher sank, taking into account predicted drift zones.
Additionally, one Coast Guard aircraft and two Air Force planes were scheduled to drop approximately 270 flares for nighttime visibility. However, strong winds prompted a wind advisory for the waters off Busan, complicating the search efforts.
A Coast Guard official stated, "Due to poor weather conditions, the helicopters and aircraft designated to fire flares have suspended operations. The adverse weather is making the search difficult, but we will mobilize all available personnel and equipment to find the missing crew members."
The 286-ton tugboat TNS Catcher capsized around 1:29 p.m. on September 2, approximately 9 kilometers east of Oryukdo, and completely sank by 3:27 p.m.
There were eight crew members on board, including six South Koreans and two Indonesians. One Indonesian crew member was rescued by a passing merchant vessel, while a South Korean was found unconscious inside the tugboat and later died after being transported to a hospital.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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