SEOUL - Thirteen people were killed and two were missing after a fishing boat collided with a tanker off South Korea's west coast and capsized early Sunday, the country's coastguard said.

The Seonchang-1 fishing boat was carrying 20 passengers on a fishing tour as well as two sailors when it crashed with the 336-ton fuel tanker at around 6 am at sea near the port city of Incheon.

Thirteen people were found dead or died after being sent to hospitals. Seven others were being treated at hospitals while two - including the captain of the boat - remained missing, according to the coastguard.

No casualties or injuries were reported among those on board the tanker.

TV footage showed the fishing boat sinking beneath churning waves while rescue divers searched around the deck, part of which was still visible above the water.

All of the passengers were wearing life jackets but many appeared to have suffered hypothermia, Seoul's Yonhap news agency said.

President Moon Jae-in ordered authorities to deploy as many helicopters and other aircraft as possible to search for the missing, according to his office.

The coast guard official said 19 Coast Guard and naval vessels and five aircraft including helicopters were dispatched to the site. Authorities were questioning the crew of the refueling vessel to determine the cause of the collision.

South Korea has seen its share of significant maritime accidents in recent years, including the 2014 sinking of a ferry that killed more than 300 people, mostly schoolchildren. More than 50 fishermen died or went missing months later after their vessel sank in the Bering Sea.

AFP - AP

(China Daily 12/04/2017 page11)