Wooden vessel presumed to be Chinese fishing boat sinks north of Yeonpyeong Island; coast guard, navy launch search

A wooden vessel believed to be a Chinese fishing boat sank in waters north of Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea on Saturday, prompting an emergency joint search by the coast guard and navy. No casualties or signs of crew members have been found so far.

According to Yonhap, the Incheon coast guard received a report at around 10:57 a.m. from the Marine Corps unit stationed on Yeonpyeong Island in Ongjin-gun, Incheon. The unit reported that a vessel was taking on water north of the island and that nearby Chinese fishing boats appeared to be searching for crew members.

The coast guard and navy immediately dispatched three patrol vessels and two navy speedboats to the scene for an intensive search. The coast guard also activated the International Safety Communication Center, the maritime safety information broadcast system NAVTEX and the Gyeongin coastal vessel traffic service center to request assistance from nearby civilian vessels, while separately notifying Chinese authorities of the incident.

The vessel sank completely at around 11:07 a.m. — just 10 minutes after the initial report was received. Authorities believe the sunken boat was a Chinese wooden vessel measuring 12 to 14 meters in length.

Coast guard officers searched three Chinese fishing boats temporarily anchored near the accident site and checked the surrounding area thoroughly, but found no crew members on board. No casualties or other unusual findings have been confirmed.

Yang Jong-ta, chief of the Incheon Maritime Police Station, said authorities had maintained close coordination with the navy in the early phase, focusing the search on the area around the sinking point. "Since no casualties have been confirmed so far, we plan to shift to a wider search going forward," he said.