Search for 17 Missing Fishermen Suspended

A South Korean fishing vessel, the INSUNG NO. 1 sank suddenly in waters off Antarctica early Monday morning leaving five crewmmbers dead and seventeen missing.

The search was suspended Monday afternoon as it was very unlikely those missing would have survived the freezing waters.

Twenty of the forty-two onboard survived when the 190-foot bottom longline ship suddenly went down 1,250 miles south of New Zealand. The SUNG NO. 1 sank in just thirty minutes leaving crew little time to prepare life saving equipment; many were unable to get to lifejackets and immersion suits in time.

The twenty survivors and five bodies were recovered by No. 707 Hongjin, a nearby fishing vessel.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand cancelled planned flyovers of the scene, citing that the lack of lifejackets or immersion suits made the survival time in the 36-degree water very short. In waters at that temperature hypothermia begins to set in immediately, leaving victims unconscious in ten to thirty minutes, with survival time at thirty to ninety minutes.

The cause of the sinking is unknown as weather and sea conditions were moderate at the time.

The deepwater fishing vessel, owned by Seoul based Insung Corporation, had three Filipinos, eight Chinese, eleven Indonesians, eleven Vietnamese, eight Koreans and a single Russian onboard.

The nationalities of those recovered have not yet been released.

PHOTO: INSUNG 1, courtesy of Insung Corporation