A fishing boat with no one on board sank in the Yellow Sea off South Korea on Wednesday, September 9, the Korea Coast Guard has confirmed.
The coast guard said it received an alert at around 06:15 local time on Wednesday about a partially submerged vessel approximately 3.4 nautical miles off Yeonpyeong Island in Ongjin County.
The coast guard and the Republic of Korea Navy then deployed vessels to the area. A coast guard boarding team searched the wooden boat and confirmed that no one was on board.
With the aid of thermal imaging equipment, the coast guard determined that there was no pollution in the surrounding waters.
The boat later sank in an area known to be frequented by Chinese fishing vessels, leading South Korean officials to suspect that it had originated from China.
Authorities have since issued radio requests to passing vessels to be on the lookout for the missing sailors.
The cause of the sinking and the whereabouts of the vessel's crew remain unknown.
The boat sank less than one nautical mile south of the Northern Limit Line, which serves as the de facto maritime boundary between the two Koreas.
