10 killed, 8 missing after fishing boat capsizes off South Korea

Ten people were found dead while eight others were still missing, after a South Korean fishing boat capsized off the country's southern coast on Sunday, police said.

The 9.77-ton boat Dolphin capsized at about 6:25 a.m. local time Sunday (2125 GMT Saturday) near Chuja Island, north of the southern resort island of Jeju, Yonhap news agency quoted the police as saying.

The boat lost communications late Saturday shortly after leaving Chuja for Haenam in the country's southwestern coast.

Twenty-one fishermen were believed to be on board the ship. Ten bodies, including that of the captain, have been found in waters around Chuja, with only three rescued. Eight people have still been unaccounted for.

About 50 vessels, including coast guard ships and military vessels, as well as a patrol aircraft and a helicopter were dispatched to the waters for search operations. Scores of divers were searching bodies undersea.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has set up a control tower in the administrative city of Sejong to handle the maritime tragedy.

President Park Geun-hye instructed utmost efforts in the search and rescue operations, and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn held a meeting with ministers and vice ministers in Sejong to discuss the incident.

Source: XINHUA