President Lee Jae Myung [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday ordered authorities to "mobilize all available resources" to respond to a collision between a gas carrier and a fishing vessel in waters off Daebyon Port in Gijang-gun, Busan, which left the fishing boat sunk.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a statement that Lee had been briefed on the collision between a cargo vessel and a fishing boat and the subsequent sinking, and directed officials to deploy every available resource to manage the situation and ensure all-out efforts to rescue those on board.

According to the Ulsan Coast Guard, the collision occurred at around 10:10 a.m. Thursday, about 23 nautical miles southeast of Daebyon in Gijang-gun, involving a 92-ton LPG carrier with 12 crew members and a 79-ton trawler with eight crew members. The fishing vessel sank following the impact.

Six of the eight crew members aboard the fishing boat were rescued by the cargo vessel's crew immediately after the collision. The coast guard and other agencies are searching for the remaining two.


sang@heraldcorp.com