1 dead, 2 injured after oil tanker, cargo ship catch fire

Coast Guard officers in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, work to extinguish a fire on an oil tanker and a cargo ship moored at a port in the southern city, Aug. 16, 2025, in this photo provided by Yeosu's Coast Guard. Yonhap

YEOSU — An oil tanker and a cargo ship caught fire in the southern coastal city of Yeosu early Saturday, killing one and leaving two others injured.

The Coast Guard in Yeosu, some 320 kilometers south of Seoul, said a fire broke out on the 2,692-ton tanker and the 24-ton cargo vessel, moored next to each other, at 1:04 a.m. Witnesses from another ship called the Coast Guard.

According to the authorities, all 18 crewmembers -- 14 aboard the tanker and four on the cargo ship -- were rescued, but the captain of the smaller vessel was found unconscious and was later pronounced dead. Two foreign-born crewmembers from the oil tanker sustained burn injuries, according to the authorities.

The fire was extinguished around 7:45 a.m., but the cause was not immediately known.

The Coast Guard said the tanker contained about 2,500 tons of toxic chemicals but had not been able to confirm as of Saturday morning whether those chemicals had spilled into waters in the port.