South Korea’s Coast Guard seizes two Chinese fishing boats near Baengnyeong, a border island in the Yellow/West Sea, over suspicions of illegal fishing in South Korean waters. Authorities say the boats cross the Northern Limit Line, a de facto maritime boundary between the two Koreas, and enter about 3 kilometers into South Korean waters at around 8 p.m. on Friday. The boats are later intercepted about 14.8 kilometers northwest of Baengnyeong.
During the crackdown, one sailor falls into cardiac arrest, according to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard says the sailor is rushed to a nearby hospital, where he receives CPR but is later pronounced dead. Reports from the Korea Times add that the sailor is a Chinese national in his 40s and that his crew says he consumed a large amount of alcohol. South Korean authorities report the death to Chinese consular authorities and say they plan to investigate the remaining crew members regarding the circumstances of the illegal fishing.
