Overturning a fishing boat off the coast of Gyeongju...Seven dead, one missing.

[Anchor]
A fishing boat on its way back from fishing off the coast of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, collided with a sand carrier and flipped over.

Seven of the eight sailors were killed and one was missing.

Reporter Kim Geun-woo reports.

[Reporter]
A fishing boat on the sea turned upside down completely with its bottom exposed.

The coast guard on board the ship conducts rescue operations.

The 29-ton shrimp fishing boat collided with a 450-ton sand carrier at around 5:40 a.m.

Arriving at the scene in 13 minutes, the Coast Guard dispatched diving personnel to rescue the crew from the overturned fishing boat, but all were without breathing or pulse.

Seven of the eight sailors were killed, and one Indonesian sailor was missing.

The Coast Guard conducted more than ten underwater searches, believing that the missing crew would be inside the fishing boat.

However, it was difficult because floating objects such as fishing nets were entangled inside.

Because of this, we plan to tow the fishing boat to the port and lift it with a crane to search intensively.

[Son Hee-soo / Gyeongju Disaster Relief Team: The entrance is narrow, and the range of activities in the cabin is narrow, so there are many blankets and other floating objects inside. So it's very hard to lift (the missing).]

The sand carrier that collided with the fishing boat entered Pohang Port, and it was confirmed that 10 crew members were not injured.

The Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the cause of the accident, including neglect of the front line and drowsy operation.

[Park Jung-rok / Pohang Maritime Police Guard Head: It is assumed that there was an accident collision due to negligence because it was vulnerable to accidents. We plan to secure recruits for the captain and crew, and investigate various possibilities.

In addition to providing funeral support for the dead sailors, the local government has also begun the process of repatriating foreign victims to their home countries.

I'm Kim Geunwoo from YTN.

Reporter for shooting
: Jeon Dae-woong