2 Chinese rescued after boat capsizes off S.Korea's eastern islets

SEOUL - Two Chinese crew members were rescued Thursday after a fishing boat capsized in waters off South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo (called Takeshima by Japan), according to the Chinese embassy in South Korea.

The two rescued members, together with a South Korean crew member, were taken to hospital by a helicopter, and no other survivors have been found, a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy said, citing the South Korean side.

The Chinese embassy said it is working with relevant local governments to contact the families of the four Chinese crew members aboard.

The South Korean government dispatched four naval ships, three helicopters, one fixed-wing aircraft, as well as two official ships and two civilian fishing boats for search operations, according to the Chinese embassy.

Nine people, four Chinese, three South Koreans and two Indonesians, were aboard the 72-ton ship when it tipped over at about 2:24 pm local time (0524 GMT) on Wednesday in international waters some 168 km northeast of the Dokdo islets.