Hopes fade for missing 14 seamen

South Korea today resumed an air and sea search for 14 seamen missing after their freighter sank but officials said it would be a miracle to find anyone still alive.

The chemical carrier Eastern Bright, carrying 2000 tonnes of nitric acid, went down in rough seas off the southern port city of Yeosu before dawn yesterday. A Burmese seaman was rescued about five hours afterwards but 12 Koreans and two Burmese remain unaccounted for. A total of 35 navy and coast guard vessels, including a navy minesweeper equipped with sonar, and four aircraft were searching the area. The navy said the minesweeper late yesterday detected what is thought to be the sunken ship, an 80-metre-long vessel resting on the seabed 60 metres below the surface and some 32km east of Geomun island. Apart from ships searching for the crew, eight vessels were cleaning up a thin oil slick around the shipwreck site from the vessel's fuel. Earlier this month, South Korea suffered its worst-ever oil spill when a tanker leaked 10,500 tonnes of crude off the west coast after being holed by a drifting barge. No one was hurt in that incident.

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