Taiwan has recovered two bodies after a ship carrying six South Koreans went missing in the Taiwan Strait, and search and rescue operations are underway, the Taiwanese and South Korean governments said on Friday (April 8).
Taiwan authorities said they received distress signals from the Kyoto 2 at around 9:50 a.m. (0050 GMT) on Thursday (April 7) from a location about 18 miles (29 km) west of the island, the foreign ministry in Seoul said, adding that all six people aboard were South Korean nationals. Fishermen have found two bodies, whose identities have yet to be confirmed, and efforts are continuing to find the other four, it added.
Video and photographs released by the Taiwan Coast Guard showed the coast guard calling out to a ship believed to be the "Kyoto 2", and a still photograph showed a ship being towed. According to South Korea the ship is called "Kyoto 2" while Taiwan authorities are calling it "Kyoto." The Sierra Leone-flagged, 322-ton ship was on its way to Indonesia's Batam port from the South Korean city of Busan while towing the Kyoto 2 tender vessel, which has been found in the area.
