Jung Woo 2: In this undated photo provided by Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the South Korean fishing boat Jung Woo 2 is moored in an unknown harbor. Three crew members aboard the fishing boat are believed to have died when a fire raged through their quarters early Wednesday, while fishing near Antarctica. (AP/CCAMLR, Natasha)Three Indonesian nationals are reportedly suffering from burns and four others are in good condition after the South Korean fishing vessel that they were onboard caught fire close to Antarctica early on Wednesday.
“One Indonesian, Jant Je Sopacua, is suffering from major burns, while two others, Sutisno and Domssi Sitaniapessy, have sustained minor burns,” Indonesian Ambassador to New Zealand Antonius Agus Sriyono told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday from Wellington.
The fire appears to have started in the living quarters of the 51-meter Jung Woo 2 before it quickly spread to the engine room and the ship's fish processing plant, said Mike Roberts, the senior search and rescue officer with the Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand, The Associated Press reported.
It raged out of control, he said, with the crew's firefighting teams unable to halt its progress.
The sister ship, Jung Woo 3, and another Korean vessel, the Hong Jin 707, arrived within about three hours to rescue 37 out of the 40 crew members registered with the Jung Woo 2, he said. Three died in the fire.
Agus said a US research vessel, the Nathaniel B. Palmer, which had hospital facilities, was expected to reach the scene within less than an hour.
“All the Indonesians will be brought to the US McMurdo Station Antarctic base for further treatment once the Nathaniel B. Palmer reaches the scene,” he said.
“It will probably take more or less one week until they are finally transported to the Indonesian Embassy in New Zealand, probably by airplane.”
Agus said he had asked Foreign Ministry officials in Indonesia to inform the relatives of the Indonesian crew members in relation to their current condition.
Below are the names and years of birth of the Indonesian nationals onboard the Jung Woo 2:
1. Victor sopacua, 1974
2. Hartoyo, 1985
3. Sutisno, 1980
4. Domssi Sitaniapessy, 1988
5. Jant Je Sopacua, 1984
6. Ferilando Alfonso, 1982
7. Maryanto, 1989
