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Yesterday (7th), the fishing boat in Hallim Port, Jeju exploded and caught fire, and the two crew members went missing.
The Coast Guard is investigating the exact cause of the accident after securing a statement that wiring was done on the fishing boat.
This is JIBS reporter Dong-eun Kim.
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A strong explosion occurs from a moored fishing boat.
The explosive force was significant enough that the household items flew away and the explosion was confirmed from a distance.
The Coast Guard believes the strong explosion occurred inside the engine room.
It appears that the captain and crew were thrown into the sea in the aftermath of the explosion.
In response to the unusually strong explosion that occurred on the fishing vessel, the Coast Guard secured a statement that wiring was done in the engine room during preparations for departure.
Based on this, we are intensively investigating whether there are sparks in the oil vapor or gas leakage.
[Chung-hee Oh / Chief Criminal Officer of Jeju Maritime Police Station: It seems that we need to investigate the captain to find out exactly what kind of work he did.]
Enlarging an image
The fishing boat where the explosion occurred is now largely submerged in water, so the exact cause of the fire will only be determined after it is salvaged to land.
The whereabouts of two people, the chief of the engine and a foreign crewman, who are believed to be on the ship have not yet been found.
The Coast Guard installed a loss prevention net and conducted an underwater search, but could not enter the hull due to difficulties in securing visibility due to oil and various floating objects.
With two people missing and three seriously injured in the accident, the property damage alone was estimated to exceed 1 billion won.
The Coast Guard and the fire department plan to collect 20,000 liters of oil from the three fishing boats, prepare for salvage from tomorrow, and salvage the wrecked fishing boats one after another next week.
(Video coverage: Kang Myung-cheol JIBS)