Seventeen fishermen missing for more than 30 hours after their South Korean boat sank near Antarctica were given up for dead yesterday, with officials saying no one could have survived the icy waters.
New Zealand’s rescue coordination center, which was running a search by private vessels in the remote region, said it had suspended the operation indefinitely.
The No. 1 Insung went down on Monday about 2,200km south of New Zealand, about halfway to Antarctica. It sank quickly — prompting speculation it struck an iceberg — and the crew of 42 had to abandon ship without donning survival gear.
Nearby ships quickly pulled 20 survivors from the sea, along with the bodies of five dead crewmen, leaving 17 unaccounted for.
Rescue coordination spokesman Dave Wilson said yesterday it was “exceedingly unlikely” that any of the 17 missing could have survived — with sea temperatures near freezing anyone who fell in would be dead in 10 minutes without special suits or lifejackets.
“Unfortunately the Southern Ocean is an extremely unforgiving environment,” Wilson said, using an alternative name for the Antarctic Ocean.
Three South Korean and two New Zealand fishing boats were called into the search by the Rescue Coordination Center on Monday. The New Zealand vessels were released on Monday evening. The three other boats continued to search overnight, but were -released yesterday.
The search was called off after almost 30 hours because “there was no reasonable expectation that any further survivors would be found,” Wilson said in a statement.
Under maritime rules, New Zealand has responsibility for coordinating nearby vessels in its search and rescue region, which covers a wide area of the Antarctic and South Pacific oceans.
It was unclear why the No. 1 Insung sank in light winds and a relatively mild 1m swell.
Wilson said the 20 survivors were onboard the South Korean vessel No. 707 Hongjin and reported to be in a comfortable condition.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on board were eight South Koreans, eight Chinese, 11 Indonesians, 11 Vietnamese, three Filipinos and one Russian.
The confirmed dead included two Indonesians, two South Koreans and one Vietnamese, a ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of office rules.
The Chinese Embassy in South Korea said four Chinese sailors were missing, while four others had been rescued, Xinhua news agency reported.
It is the second Korean fishing vessel this year to sink in ocean waters near New Zealand. In August, six men died and 45 were rescued after their boat, Oyang 70, sank in just 15 minutes in calm waters 700km east of the South Island. A report into the sinking has yet to be released.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of