A tugboat carrying eight crew members capsized and sank off South Korea's southeastern coast on Wednesday, resulting in one confirmed death and six individuals still missing, according to the coast guard.
The 286-ton vessel had departed in the morning to tow a merchant ship near the city of Busan. Following the capsizing, one Indonesian crew member was rescued by the merchant vessel. A South Korean crew member was found unconscious by coast guard rescuers and later declared dead at a mainland hospital.
The coast guard and navy have deployed vessels and aircraft to search for the six remaining missing crew members. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has reportedly ordered authorities to mobilize all available resources for the rescue effort.
The tugboat sank around 3:30 p.m. local time, approximately two hours after the initial report of its capsizing. The cause of the incident is currently unknown.