SEOUL: At least ten people died and eight are missing after a South Korean fishing charter boat capsized, the coast guard said Sunday, while three survived after clinging to the wreckage for 10 hours.
The 9.77-ton Dolphin went missing off the southwest coast near the island of Chuja Saturday night and its wreckage was found Sunday morning.
The three survivors have been rescued and flown by helicopter to a hospital on Jeju island south of Chuja.
“It has been determined that 21 people were on board the ill-fated boat, with three having been rescued, 10 found dead and eight missing,” Lee Pyung-hyun, chief of the Jeju coast guard, was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying.
More than 50 naval and coast guard vessels, as well as a Lynx helicopter and a P-3C maritime patrol plane, were searching for the missing.
One survivor said the boat capsized “in an instant” before many passengers were swept away by strong waves.
“I was sleeping when the boat’s engine went off and the captain told us to get out and water started to fill the boat,” the 38-year-old surnamed Park told Yonhap.
Park said he and other survivors climbed on top of a floating piece of the boat and held on for more than 10 hours before being rescued.
They praised the courage of the boat captain Kim Cheol-Soo, who was among the dead.
“Hold my hand!” a survivor called Lee quoted Kim as saying as the captain extended an arm from the top of the capsized boat.
“Our boat is connected to the coast guard, so they will come rescue us. Don’t worry. They’ll be here soon,” the 46-year-old captain told passengers, trying to lift their spirits as they clung desperately to the boat.
Lee and the other two were saved early Sunday after hanging on to the boat for more than 10 hours, crying out for help and encouraging each other to hold on for just a little longer, Yonhap reported.
In contrast to the fishing boat skipper, the captain involved in South Korea’s Sewol ferry disaster last year was among the first to abandon ship.
More than 300 people — mainly schoolgirls — died when the ferry went down in April 2014.
Ten die, eight missing, as S. Korea fishing boat capsizes
Ten die, eight missing, as S. Korea fishing boat capsizes
More than 200 killed in coltan mine collapse in east Congo, official says
- “Some people were rescued just in time and have serious injuries,” Muyisa
- An adviser to the governor said the number of confirmed dead was at least 227
KINSHASA: More than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Lubumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located, told Reuters on Friday.
Rubaya produces around 15 percent of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal that is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines.
The site, where locals dig manually for a few dollars per day, has been under the control of the AFC/M23 rebel group since 2024.
The collapse occurred on Wednesday and the precise toll was still unclear as of Friday evening.
“More than 200 people were victims of this landslide, including miners, children and market women. Some people were rescued just in time and have serious injuries,” Muyisa said, adding that about 20 injured people were being treated in health facilities.
“We are in the rainy season. The ground is fragile. It was the ground that gave way while the victims were in the hole.”
An adviser to the governor said the number of confirmed dead was at least 227. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
The United Nations says AFC/M23 has plundered Rubaya’s riches to help fund its insurgency, backed by the government of neighboring Rwanda, an allegation Kigali denies.
The heavily-armed rebels, whose stated aim is to overthrow the government in Kinshasa and ensure the safety of the Congolese Tutsi minority, captured even more mineral-rich territory in eastern Congo during a lightning advance last year.
