SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Five crew members of a merchant ship fell overboard off South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, the South Korean coast guard said Friday.
It was reported to the coast guard at about 4:47 p.m. local time (0747 GMT) that five sailors had fallen from the 8,580-ton, Sierra Leone-flagged merchant vessel carrying 15 crew members in waters some 33 km southwest of the island's Seogwipo port.
The coast guard dispatched five patrol ships, two coastal rescue boats and a helicopter to the scene, requesting the rescue operation from nearby vessels.
One vessel of the navy was sent to the scene to support the rescue operation.
The coast guard was investigating the cause of incident. ■
