Three dead after fire on Korean trawler in Antarctica

January 11, 2012 | 15:23

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Three crew from a Korean fishing boat are believed to have died and seven others have burns after a fire broke out on their trawler off Antarctica, New Zealand rescue officials said Wednesday.

Photo illustration of a massive iceberg in Antarctica. Three crew from a Korean fishing boat are believed to have died and seven others have burns after a fire broke out on their trawler off Antarctica, New Zealand rescue officials said Wednesday

The 51-metre (155-foot) Jeong Woo 2 was in the remote Ross Sea, about 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) southeast of New Zealand, and some 600 kilometres north of Antarctica's McMurdo Station when the blaze erupted.

Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) spokeswoman Sharon Cuzens said the boat issued a distress call overnight, which was picked up by RCCNZ, and two other Korean fishing boats responded and evacuated the ship.

"Three crew members are still missing and are believed to have died in the fire in the vessel's accommodation block," RCCNZ said.

Around 40 crew were on board the boat at the time.

RCCNZ said two of the rescued men were suffering extensive burns while five others had less serious burn injuries.

South Korean officials told the Yonhap news agency that the three missing men were Vietnamese and "are believed to have died in a cabin where they were sleeping when the fire broke out".

Map showing the Ross Sea in Antarctica, where three crew from a Korean fishing boat were believed killed after a fire broke out on their trawler, New Zealand rescue officialas said

Six of those rescued were from South Korea, with the rest of the crew from countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, China and Russia, according to Yonhap.

RCCNZ said the crew was being medically assessed and the rescuing ships planned to transfer injured seamen to the US research vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer, which was steaming north to meet them, although ice and fog was hampering efforts.

The Nathaniel B. Palmer has suitable medical facilities on board and will sail to McMurdo Base to put the injured seamen ashore.

AFP

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