On the early morning hours of November 8, the 36.67 meter long, 129 ton fishing vessel Geumseong 135 (IMO: 8916592) sank in the Korea Strait near Jeju Island, South Korea. The Geumseong 135 had been hauling in its catch when it lost stability, rolled over and sunk. A few minutes after the vessel sank, the Coast Guard received an alert and quickly responded. The Coast Guard deployed 14 patrol vessels and 4 helicopters to search for survivors. The Coast Guard had requested additional vessels and aircraft to assisted in the search. Rescuers found 15 of the 27 of the Geumseong 135 crew. Two of the crew rescued were found in cardiac arrest and were later declared deceased.
Over the following days, the Coast Guard recovered two additional bodies from the sea with 10 crew still missing. An oil sheen was visible over the wreck which rests in a depth of 80 to 90 meters.
Reports state the reason the Geumseong 135 lost stability due to the size of the catch in the net was 3 to 5 times greater than normally be caught. The incident is under investigation.
