The boat was helped by a nearby sister ship a another fishing vessel. The South Korean 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 370 miles (595 kilometers) north of the U.S. McMurdo Station Antarctic base.
The fire started in the living quarters and spread quickly to the engine room and fish processing plant. The distress call was sent before 3 a.m. New Zealand time.
According to the rescue center, the injured crew has been transferred to a U.S. research vessel and left ashore at McMurdo Base for treatment and possible evacuation to New Zealand. The three men who died never made it out their quartes.
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.”
(아주경제 송지영 기자)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com