Tugboat Boat Capsizes with One Crewmember Saved, Six Missing, One Killed
One crewmember, the cook, aboard a South Korean tugboat, miraculously survived as the boat he was working on capsized off Busan, South Korea, on Wednesday afternoon, September 2. Search and rescue teams recovered the body of one other crewmember and were continuing to search for six others who were still missing as night fell on Busan.
The 286-ton tugboat TNS Catcher had been dispatched Wednesday morning with a crew of eight aboard and was assigned to assist a containership. The vessel is not being named in the Korean media, only identified as a 66,332-ton Liberian-flagged vessel. The tug built in 2007 was 34 meters (110 feet) in length.
It is unclear from the reports if the operations had begun, but the tug was near the containership based on the pictures released by the Busan Coast Guard. The tug suddenly overturned at around 1:29 pm local time.
The 53-year-old Indonesian cook told reporters that he had been in the galley and ran when he realized the vessel was in trouble. He was able to climb on top of the stern of the overturned tugboat, and the containership saw him and lowered a ladder for him to climb up. He said the tug’s second engineer had followed his escape but had fallen into the water.
The Coast Guard immediately dispatched 13 rescue boats and began a search, also using helicopters and aircraft. It asked for additional assistance, and South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung mobilized the Navy to assist. By nightfall, the Coast Guard reported that 19 boats, including the Navy, Busan metropolitan government, and fire authorities, were continuing the search.
Pictures show the Coast Guard team atop the capsized tugboat attempting to search the vessel. The boat remained afloat for about two hours before sinking in water at a depth of 87 meters (285 feet).
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The Coast Guard reports the search was being hampered by waves up to 1.5 meters (5 feet). The winds were up to 13.5 mph.
The unconscious body of a male, later reported to be a 57-year-old Korean, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The crew consisted of six Koreans and two Indonesians.
