7 people dead and 2 missing after South Korean tanker capsizes off Japan

A South Korean chemical tanker flipped over near an island in the southwest of Japan on Wednesday, officials said. Eight people on the ship died. One person from the crew lived, but we didn’t know what happened to the other two.

Authorities stated that the big ship was carrying 980 tons of a chemical called acrylic acid. This chemical is corrosive and is used in things like glue, paint, and polish. Officials are checking for leaks and figuring out what to do to protect the environment if there is a leak.

The Japan Coast Guard got a call for help from a chemical tanker called Keoyoung Sun. The tanker said it was leaning to one side and trying to stay safe from the bad weather near Mutsure Island in Japan. Mutsure Island is about 1,000 kilometers away from Tokyo in southwest Japan.

The ship had flipped over by the time the rescuers got there. On NHK television in Japan, a video showed the ship upside down with waves crashing against its red bottom.

The boat had 11 people on it, but only nine have been found, officials said. One person from Indonesia is the only crew member that is confirmed to be alive. The coast guard is still looking for two more people.

South Korean officials met on Wednesday to talk about the boat tipping over. At the meeting, Vice Foreign Minister Kang Insun asked officials to use all their resources to help with the rescue efforts and support the families of South Korean crew members. This information comes from the Foreign Ministry.

The ship was going from Himeji in Japan to Ulsan in South Korea, according to the coast guard. The ship’s captain was from South Korea, and the crew also had one more person from South Korea, someone from China, and eight people from Indonesia, said the coast guard.

Acrylic acid is used in making plastic, resin and coatings. It can make skin, eyes and the insides of your nose and mouth feel uncomfortable, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

We don’t have any other information about how the ship turned over.