Four fishermen dead, three missing off S Korea

Four fishermen died and three others were missing after a South Korean fishing boat collided with a cargo ship off the country's south coast, officials said on Sunday.

Four fishermen died and three others were missing after a South Korean fishing boat collided with a cargo ship off the country's south coast, officials said on Sunday.

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The seven were among nine crew aboard the 29-tonne fishing boat, which collided with the 3,836-tonne ship Joshu 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of Jeju island late Saturday, South Korea's coast guard said.

The fishing boat was left half-submerged by the accident.

Sailors aboard the Hong Kong-registered cargo vessel, which did not report any significant damage in the collision, managed to rescue two crew from the smaller boat, coast guard officials said.

Patrol boats and helicopters, together with a Japanese coast guard ship, were searching for the three fishermen still missing, they said.