Three people were rescued and one remained missing after a small auxiliary vessel belonging to a North Korean merchant ship sank in international waters about 200 kilometers southeast of Homigot in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, authorities said Thursday.
According to the East Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard, it received a report from the South Korean Navy at around 10:52 a.m. that an auxiliary vessel of a North Korean merchant ship had sunk, initially leaving four people missing.
The Coast Guard requested search and rescue cooperation from rescue coordination centers in Japan and Russia and dispatched two Coast Guard patrol vessels and an aircraft to the area. A South Korean Navy vessel and a fisheries patrol vessel were also deployed for the search.
At around 12:18 p.m., the Coast Guard confirmed information from the Japan Coast Guard that three of the four people had been rescued.
Search and rescue operations are continuing for the remaining missing person.
"Although the accident occurred in international waters, we swiftly deployed all available rescue assets to the scene in accordance with international and humanitarian principles that place saving lives first," said Lee Jong-wook, acting chief of the East Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard.
"We will make every effort in the search to locate and rescue the missing person as quickly as possible," Lee added.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
