Eight dead after South Korean chemicals tanker capsizes off Japan

One other person is in a non-life-threatening condition, while two others remained missing

The tanker was carrying 980 tonnes of acrylic acid, but there was no information on whether that compound had leaked into the ocean

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A South Korean tanker is seen capsized off Mutsure Island, Yamaguchi prefecture, southwestern Japan. Photo: AP

Published: 4:13pm, 20 Mar 2024Updated: 6:12pm, 20 Mar 2024

Eight people died after a South Korean-flagged tanker capsized off Japan on Wednesday, the coast guard said, reversing its earlier statements that they were rescued.

“They were confirmed dead at a hospital,” a spokesman told AFP. One other person was in a non-life-threatening condition, while two others remained missing.

The chemicals tanker had 11 people on board, including two South Koreans, eight Indonesians and one Chinese, the coast guard said.

The tanker was carrying 980 tonnes of acrylic acid, but there was no information on whether that compound had leaked into the ocean, according to the coast guard.

Footage from Japanese broadcaster NHK showed the overturned red hull of the ship as well as a life raft, as a coast guard ship pounded through heavy waves and a helicopter flew overhead.

A rescue operation is conducted as a South Korean tanker capsized off Shimonoseki. Photo: AP

The crew notified the coast guard early on Wednesday that the vessel was tilting and requested help near the island of Mutsure, off Japan’s southwestern coast, NHK said.