Russian fishing vessel catches fire off South Korea, four missing

A Russian fishing vessel has caught fire off South Korea’s city of Ulsan, four crew members are listed as missing.

The ship had 25 people on board, all of them are citizens of Russia, Yonhap news agency reported on April 21, citing coast guards.

A total of 21 people were rescued. 19 of them were not harmed, while two received minor injuries.

The fire broke out at 00:43 local time on Friday (6:43 p.m. Moscow time on Thursday). The ship, with a displacement of 769 metric tons, was transporting 100 tonnes of seafood. It was on its way to Russia when the crew issued a distress call.

Meanwhile, the Far Eastern Department of Transport Prosecutors told TASS that a probe had been launched into the incident.

"Transport Prosecutors’ offices of Primorye and Sakhalin are conducting a probe into the fire that broke out aboard the Kaltan vessel (home port Vladivostok, ship owner - Dlarybprom) on 21.04.2023, when it was 30 nautical miles away from the seaport of Pusan (the Republic of Korea)," the department’s press office said. "At present, a rescue operation and a firefighting effort continue aboard the ship. According to preliminary information, 21 crew members have been evacuated."

Prosecutors will look into compliance with fire safety rules aboard the vessel.