A South Korean-flagged freighter is feared to have capsized off the country's southern coast early on Tuesday and 14 sailors are missing, a coast guard official said.

One sailor, a Myanmarese national, was picked by a rescue
boat after the Eastern Bright, a chemical products carrier disappeared off the port city of Yeosu, the official said.

The sailor was unconscious, and it was not clear what had happened to the vessel, he said.

The coast guard and the navy were still searching for 12 South Koreans and two more sailors from Myanmar in the rough sea.

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