Search and rescue operations are continuing off Busan, South Korea after the tugboat TNS Catcher capsized near Oryukdo and later sank. One crew member has been confirmed dead, six remain missing and one was rescued.
According to the Busan Maritime Police Station, the 286-tonne-class TNS Catcher overturned at about 1:29 p.m. on the 2nd, around 9 km east of Oryukdo. The vessel was carrying eight people, including six Koreans and two Indonesians.
About 20 minutes after the accident, a passing merchant ship rescued an Indonesian crew member in his 50s.
The Korea Coast Guard later located a Korean crew member in his 50s unconscious inside TNS Catcher. He was moved to a coastal rescue boat and taken to Millak Port before being transferred to the 119 rescue squad. He died after reaching hospital.
The Korea Coast Guard is continuing the search for the remaining six crew members. High waves and fast currents are making the operation difficult. Conditions at the site included waves of 1 m to 1.5 m and northwesterly winds of 4 m/s to 6 m/s.
At about 3:27 p.m., roughly two hours after the capsize, TNS Catcher sank completely. The water depth at the accident site is about 87 m.
Earlier that day, the tugboat left the government ship pier at Busan Port at about 10:15 a.m. to carry out a merchant ship tow. It is presumed to have capsized while the towing operation was under way. The merchant ship waiting to be towed reported the accident to the Busan Port vessel traffic service.
The Busan Korea Coast Guard raised the regional rescue headquarters response to Level 3 and deployed 13 patrol and coastal rescue boats, an aviation unit and the Central Maritime Special Rescue Unit.
The Navy also sent Gwangyang, Chamsuri-class patrol boats, a destroyer, a rescue ship, a minesweeper and two aircraft to support the search and rescue effort.
President Lee Jae-myung received a report on the accident and instructed authorities to use all available resources for the rescue.
The Busan city government also convened an emergency response meeting to review personnel, equipment and other support required for the search. It decided to send a liaison officer to the Oryukdo coast and assign dedicated civil servants to support the families of the missing crew.
