Korean Ship Sinks Off Oman With13 Sailors Missing
By Kim Yoo-chul and Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporters
The South Korean freighter, ``Orchid Sun,'' sank in waters off Oman, leaving one killed and 12 other sailors of the total 23 aboard missing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Thursday.
Among the missing are four South Koreans, identified as captain Jeon Sang-ik, 38; third grade navigator Choi Kyu-in, 24; chief engineer Lee Byeong-hwa, 54; and first engineer Hyun Gwan-su, 36. The others rescued are four Filipinos and two Chileans, according to the ministry.
The dead has yet to be identified as the body fell while being lifted by a helicopter on the scene, a ministry official said, adding that six of the 10 rescued have seriously been injured.
``The South Korean government is still open to the possibility that these missing crewmen will be rescued soon,'' the official said.
The accident occurred around 8:30 a.m. (KST) in waters about 150 kilometers east of Oman. The 26,000-ton ship was sailing to Iran from China carrying 42,000 tons of steel products, and sank after its hold began rapidly taking in water, ministry officials said.
A total of 23 sailors were aboard the ship _ eight South Koreans, 13 Filipinos and two Chileans _ but only 10 were rescued by nearby ships and rescue helicopters sent from Oman, according to the ministry.
The crew evacuated the ship right after sending out an SOS, the official said.
A joint search-and-rescue effort involving Oman and Pakistan, and a U.S. Navy vessel is currently under way.
The rescued sailors are being transported by ship because of no answer from
the Air Force although the Korean embassy there requested the Omani government
to send a transport helicopter to carry them to a nearby hospital, Yonhap news agency said.
Consequently, the rescued are expected to arrive at the Muscat Port of Oman
at 3 a.m. Friday (KST), six hours later than expected, Yonhap quoted an embassy
official as saying, adding that the embassy is ready to transport the rescued but
injured sailors in an ambulance to a nearby hospital upon arrival at the port.
"We have strongly called on the Omani government to step up search and rescue
operation for those missing before the sunset," an embassy official was quoted
as saying.