3 die as blaze erupts on fishing boat
Source: Agencies |
January 12, 2012, Thursday
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THREE fishermen died, and two of 37 rescued suffered severe burns, after fire raged out of control on a South Korean fishing boat near Antarctica early yesterday.
Rescue coordinators said help given by a nearby sister ship and another fishing vessel likely prevented a worse outcome. Two unconscious, severely burned men were hoisted off the flaming ship by crane, and five crew members suffered moderate burns.
The ship was continuing to burn and appeared to be sinking, said Mike Roberts, the senior search and rescue officer with the Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand.
The Jung Woo 2, got into trouble in the Ross Sea about 595 kilometers north of the US McMurdo Station Antarctic base.
The fire appears to have started in the living quarters of the 51-meter ship and spread quickly to the engine room and fish-processing plant, Roberts said.
It raged out of control, with the crew's firefighting teams unable to halt its progress.
A distress call was sent before 3am. It's not known how many people were asleep when fire broke out.
The injured crew have been transferred to a US research vessel, the rescue center said in a statement last night. The crew on the Nathaniel B Palmer will treat their injuries, then put the seamen ashore at McMurdo Base for more extensive help and possible evacuation to New Zealand.
The three men who were killed never made it out of their quarters, Roberts said. He said 25 men were able to get on to a life raft but the fire burned the ship's other one, forcing 12 men to stay aboard until help arrived.
The sister ship Jung Woo 3 and another Korean vessel, the Hong Jin 707, arrived within about three hours, Roberts said.
"We're pretty fortunate that we were able to get 37 out of 40 to safety," Roberts said. "It was a really catastrophic event."
Roberts said the cause of the fire remains unknown.
Rescue coordinators said help given by a nearby sister ship and another fishing vessel likely prevented a worse outcome. Two unconscious, severely burned men were hoisted off the flaming ship by crane, and five crew members suffered moderate burns.
The ship was continuing to burn and appeared to be sinking, said Mike Roberts, the senior search and rescue officer with the Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand.
The Jung Woo 2, got into trouble in the Ross Sea about 595 kilometers north of the US McMurdo Station Antarctic base.
The fire appears to have started in the living quarters of the 51-meter ship and spread quickly to the engine room and fish-processing plant, Roberts said.
It raged out of control, with the crew's firefighting teams unable to halt its progress.
A distress call was sent before 3am. It's not known how many people were asleep when fire broke out.
The injured crew have been transferred to a US research vessel, the rescue center said in a statement last night. The crew on the Nathaniel B Palmer will treat their injuries, then put the seamen ashore at McMurdo Base for more extensive help and possible evacuation to New Zealand.
The three men who were killed never made it out of their quarters, Roberts said. He said 25 men were able to get on to a life raft but the fire burned the ship's other one, forcing 12 men to stay aboard until help arrived.
The sister ship Jung Woo 3 and another Korean vessel, the Hong Jin 707, arrived within about three hours, Roberts said.
"We're pretty fortunate that we were able to get 37 out of 40 to safety," Roberts said. "It was a really catastrophic event."
Roberts said the cause of the fire remains unknown.
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