KOMCC received a distress alert from the 769-ton Russian fishing vessel named KALTAN at 00:46 on 21 April 2023.
The location was 28 nautical miles away from the southeast of Gori, Gijang-gun, Busan which is southeast of Korea Peninsula.
Right after receiving the alert, Korea Coast Guard dispatched SAR units, including patrol ships, aircraft and other vessels to the scene.
VTS and other SAR units tried to communicate with the vessel, but no one answered.
Soon, a ship reported that KALTAN was on fire and KCG prepared for extinguishing the fire.
About an hour later, the ship Yu-Myung No.2, rescued 21 crew members, but 4 crew members remained missing.
The remaining four crew were found dead inside the ship after the flames were extinguished.
For the SAR operation, KCG, Air Force, Korea Navy and other vessels were immediately deployed to the scene.
The Russian government has expressed its gratitude to Korea for rescuing 21 sailors and KCG has received letters of appreciation from the Russian Embassy in Seoul and a Russian federal government agency overseeing border protection.
It seemed no one on board was able to report the distress or communicate due to the emergency, and KCG was alerted only by the 406 EPIRB distress alert.
The Cospas-Sarsat System and the prompt actions of KOMCC operators were able to save 21 lives.
