Tokyo — A South Korean tanker capsized off an island in southwest Japan on Wednesday, authorities said, killing at least eight people on board. One crew member survived, and the fate of two others was unknown.
The Japan Coast Guard said it received a distress call from the chemical tanker Keoyoung Sun, saying that it was tilting while seeking refuge from the weather near Japan’s Mutsure Island, about 620 miles from Tokyo in southwest Japan.
Kyodo via REUTERS
The ship was completely capsized by the time rescuers arrived at the scene. Video aired by Japan’s national broadcaster NHK showed the ship lying upside down, a rough sea washing over its red underside.
The one crew member confirmed alive was from Indonesia, while the coast guard was still searching for two more.
The ship was en route from the Japanese port of Himeji to Ulsan in South Korea, according to NHK. Its captain was South Korean, and its crew included another South Korean national, a Chinese national and eight Indonesians, according to the coast guard.
The tanker was carrying 980 tons of acrylic acid, officials said. No leak was immediately detected, and officials were studying what environmental protection measures might be needed in case there was a leak.
Acrylic acid is used in plastics, resin and coatings and can irritate the skin, eyes and mucous membranes, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
No other details, including how the ship capsized, were immediately known.