A South Korean trawler, a commercial fishing boat, sank in the frigid waters of the western Bering Sea Monday, reports the New York Times. Rescuers have pulled seven survivors and one dead crew member from the water, but 52 crew members still remain missing.
The 1,753-ton trawler Oryong 501 sank off the coast of the Chukotka region in northeast Russia after a wave hit as the crew was hauling in its catch of pollock fish, says the Times. Water flooded the boat's storage chambers.
The survivng crew were rescued from a life raft. It is believed that the other crew members put on life jackets and jumped into the sea, where the water temperature was only 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
The trawler has been working in the Bering Sea since July. It was one of six South Korean trawlers allowed to catch 40,000 tons of pollock this year under a fisheries deal with Russia, reports the Times. Pollock is one of the most popular fish in South Korea.
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