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Russian fishing vessel catches fire off South Korea, four missing — Yonhap

There were 25 Russian citizens on board the ship

SEOUL, April 21. /TASS/. A Russian fishing vessel has caught fire off South Korea’s city of Ulsan, four crew members are listed as missing, the country’s Yonhap news agency reported on Friday citing coast guards.

The ship had 25 people on board, all of them are citizens of Russia.

A total of 21 people were rescued. 19 of them were not harmed, while two received minor injuries.

The fire broke out at 00:43 local time on Friday (6:43 p.m. Moscow time on Thursday). The ship, with a displacement of 769 metric tons, was transporting 100 tonnes of seafood. It was on its way to Russia when the crew issued a distress call.

South Korean coast guards responded to the emergency, sending a rescue vessel to the area. The search for the missing four crew members is ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Far Eastern Department of Transport Prosecutors told TASS that a probe had been launched into the incident.

"Transport Prosecutors’ offices of Primorye and Sakhalin are conducting a probe into the fire that broke out aboard the Kaltan vessel (home port Vladivostok, ship owner - Dlarybprom) on 21.04.2023, when it was 30 nautical miles away from the seaport of Pusan (the Republic of Korea)," the department’s press office said. "At present, a rescue operation and a firefighting effort continue aboard the ship. According to preliminary information, 21 crew members have been evacuated."

Prosecutors will look into compliance with fire safety rules aboard the vessel.