[dropcap type=”1″]A[/dropcap]t least 10 people have died and eight are missing after a South Korean fishing charter boat capsized. The 9.8-tonne boat, Dolphin, went missing off the southwest coast near the island of Chuja on Saturday night and its wreckage was found Sunday morning.
A survivor told Yonhap news agency that the boat quickly capsized because of high waves. The survivor, identified only by the surname Park, awoke to find the captain telling the passengers to get out as the boat filled with water. Park said survivors clung to the boat for more than 10 hours, but most disappeared in the strong waves before rescuers arrived. Only three people survived.
They were flown to a hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening, Jeju coast guard officers said on condition of anonymity.
Dozens of ships searched the area for survivors. It wasn’t clear how many were on board, but most were passengers on a fishing trip, not professional fishermen, one of the coast guard officials said.
A document listed 22 expected passengers, but officials have found that at least four of those listed did not actually board the ship. South Korea is still dealing with grief and anger over a maritime disaster last year that killed more than 300 people, mostly school children, when a ferry sank off the southern coast.