Two men believed to be crew members of a South Korean fishing boat that capsized about 17 km off Tsushima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture have been found dead and another was rescued Monday, local coast guard officials said.
The crew member, rescued from the engine room of the ship, which was floating belly-up, is in stable condition, they said.
Officials said they were notified that a vessel had capsized at around 7:45 a.m. and dispatched a patrol ship to the area to investigate. The patrol ship located the 103 U Yon fishing boat and two bodies in the vicinity.
The 18-ton vessel reportedly had eight crew members, and the coast guard is searching for the remainder. The coast guard said there was no evidence of a collision. After radio contact was lost Thursday evening while the ship was fishing off Cheju Island, South Korean maritime police began a search.
A local weather observatory said there had been strong winds and high waves in the area over the past few days.