A Russian ship caught fire off the coast of South Korea, killing four sailors on board, state-run media reported.
The bodies of the crew members, who were onboard the Russian fishing vessel Kaltan, which caught fire off South Korea's city of Ulsan, were found on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the Russian Consulate General in Busan. Ulsan is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of South Korea's capital, Seoul.
According South Korean news reports, the vessel had 25 crew members on board, and was carrying 100 tons of fish to Russia when the blaze broke out at about 12:43 a.m. local time. Crew members issued a distress call.
"In connection with the fire at the Kaltan VTS, the competent authorities of the Republic of Korea informed the Consulate General that as of 16:15 (local time) 21 people were evacuated, the bodies of four crew members were found," Interfax reported, citing the Telegram channel of the consulate general.
The four crew members had initially been declared missing. All 25 staf were believed to be Russian nationals.
The Ulsan coast guard said two of those rescued had minor burns and were receiving emergency treatment.
A spokesperson of the Far Eastern expeditionary emergency response team of the Russian Federal Agency for Fishery told Sputnik that the 21 crew members who were rescued initially moved to life rafts, and then to South Korean rescue vessels.
According to the spokesman, the captain was one of those who was initially declared missing.
Rosmorrechflot, Russia's federal agency for sea and inland water transport, told state-run news agency RIA Novosti that the captain of the ship gave the order to get on the life rafts.
A spokesman for the agency said the ship was heading to the Sea of Okhotsk after being repaired in Busan.
The blaze was extinguished by firefighters after the fishing ship was towed to the port of Ulsan, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
It isn't clear what caused the fire.
Russia's Eastern Interregional Investigation Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on violation of navigation safety rules. According to RIA Novosti, the damage from the fire is estimated to be more than one million rubles ($12,290).
Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry by email for comment.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
