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South Korean fishing boat catches fire, leaving 1 person killed, 11 more missing, says Coast Guard

19 November 2019 22:04 (UTC +04:00)

A fire on a South Korean fishing boat near Jeju Island resulted in one person being killed, and 11 more still missing, the local Coast Guard said on Tuesday, APA reports citing Sputnik.

The blaze broke out on the 29-tonne vessel with 12 people aboard at about 22:09 GMT. Six of those were South Korean nationals, while the others were citizens of Vietnam, the Coast Guard said.

Rescuers have only found and pulled one person out of the water so far — a 60-year-old Korean who was not wearing a life jacket. The man was transferred to a hospital on the island, where he was pronounced dead.

Rescue operations are underway. A warship, rescue vessels and helicopters have been deployed to the site.