A South Korean coast guard vessel capsized after rescuing crew members of a damaged cargo ship off the southern island of Jeju, the Associated Press has reported. Five of the sailors died and one coast guard officer was injured.
The coast guard boat capsized while carrying 15 crew members who were rescued from the Malaysian-flagged, M/V Shinline.
“Of two coastguard boats involved in the operation, one overturned because of high waves,” a spokesman for the Korean Coast Guard told the AFP.
“The conditions were extremely bad and the freighter could have gone underwater at any moment,” the report added. “We had no other choice but to try to rescue as many sailors as we could.”
The 5,436-ton Shinline reportedly had a crew of 19, made up of 13 Chinese and 6 filipinos, and was enroute to Singapore when it started taking on water.
