An overnight search has turned up no signs of six crew members still missing after a tugboat capsized earlier this week off the southeastern South Korean port city of Busan, officials said Saturday, as rescue efforts entered their fifth day.

The 286-ton tugboat was carrying six Korean and two Indonesian crew members when it overturned Wednesday afternoon shortly after departing Busan Port to tow a commercial ship. One Indonesian crew member was rescued alive, while a Korean crew member was pulled from the water unconscious and later died.

Six Coast Guard vessels were mobilized overnight to search for the remaining six crew members, but high waves and strong winds hampered the operation and no trace of the missing was found. The severe weather has also prevented divers from conducting underwater searches of the sunken vessel.

Search operations were set to continue during the day, with additional vessels scheduled to join the effort. In such incidents, authorities typically also open an investigation into the cause of the capsizing, examining factors such as weather conditions at the time of departure, vessel seaworthiness, and towing operations; the findings are usually released in the weeks or months that follow.

Maritime accidents involving small vessels such as tugboats are a recurring safety concern in South Korea, where coastal shipping and port towage operations around major hubs like Busan — the country's largest port — are exposed to sudden weather changes. Under South Korean law, the Korea Coast Guard leads search and rescue operations at sea, often working alongside Navy vessels when incidents occur in coastal waters.

Source: The Korea Times