Six Missing After Busan Tugboat Capsizes Despite Overnight Search

Six crew members remained missing after a 286-ton tugboat overturned off Busan, despite an overnight search that used illumination flares, aircraft and an underwater drone.

The TNS Catcher capsized at 1:29 p.m. on July 2, about 9 kilometers east of Oryukdo, off Yongho-dong in Busan’s Nam district. The vessel sank completely at 3:27 p.m., two hours after the accident, in waters 87 meters deep.

The Busan Coast Guard searched from 7 p.m. on July 2 until 6 a.m. the following day. It divided a 25-kilometer by 12-kilometer search zone into 15 sections and deployed 19 vessels. Three aircraft, including one from the coast guard and two from the Air Force, flew over the sinking area. Rescuers also fired about 270 illumination flares and used the Navy vessel Gwangyang’s remotely operated vehicle for an underwater search.

Eight crew members were aboard the tugboat, including six South Koreans and two Indonesians. A 53-year-old Indonesian sailor was rescued by a nearby container ship. Another crew member in his 50s was found unconscious inside the overturned vessel and taken to hospital, where he later died. Strong currents, high waves and the depth of the sea continued to hamper the search for the remaining six.