Image Credits: Busan Coast Guard Six crew members are still missing after a tugboat capsized and sank off Busan on Sept. 2 while towing a large container ship. The 286-tonne TNS Catcher capsized at about 1:29 p.m. in waters around 9 km east of Oryukdo Island. It sank completely at about 3:27 p.m., about two hours later. The tug was later found on the seabed at a depth of about 87 metres. Eight people were on board the tug, six South Koreans and two Indonesians. A 53-year-old Indonesian crew member was rescued by a nearby merchant ship at about 1:49 p.m., around 20 minutes after the accident. He was not in serious condition. A 57-year-old South Korean crew member was found unconscious inside the capsized tug. He was taken to hospital on a Coast Guard rescue vessel but later died. The other six crew members remain missing. Search continues at sea The operation involved 19 vessels, 11 Coast Guard ships, four Navy ships and four vessels from the Busan city government and fire authority. One Coast Guard aircraft and two Air Force aircraft also took part. About 270 flares were used during the search. The Coast Guard used 30 and the Air Force used 240. The Navy’s Gwangyang used a remotely operated vehicle to search around the sunken tug. Visibility underwater was only about 30 cm. Bad sea conditions made the operation harder. Waves reached up to 1.5 metres and winds reached 6 metres per second. Strong currents and poor visibility also affected the search. The water temperature near Oryukdo was 25.1°C on the afternoon of Sept. 2. The Coast Guard said international aeronautical and maritime search and rescue guidelines put the maximum survival time for a person missing at sea at more than 40 hours when the water temperature is 20°C or higher. Tug turned before capsizing The TNS Catcher had left a government vessel pier at Busan Port at 10:15 a.m. to tow a merchant vessel that had been involved in an earlier accident. Three tugs were involved in the towing operation. Tw