South Korean coastguard shoots dead Chinese skipper of fishing boat
PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 9:44pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 11 October, 2014, 3:42am
Agence France-Presse in Seoul
X-rays had shown a bullet lodged in his chest. Photo: The Beijing News
The South Korean coastguard shot and killed the Chinese skipper of a fishing boat yesterday in a confrontation in the Yellow Sea.
A coastguard spokesman said shots were fired as the vessel was boarded for illegally fishing in South Korean territorial waters, around 130km off the western island of Wangdeung.
The shooting has triggered an angry protest from Beijing.
"Dozens of Chinese sailors attacked our officers with knives and beer bottles," said Choi Chang-Sam, chief of the Mokpo Coastguard Station.
"It was a dangerous situation. One officer fired a warning shot but they did not stop. So he fired several more rounds," Choi said, adding that five coastguard officers needed treatment for injuries.
The Chinese captain was taken to a hospital in Mokpo on the mainland where he was declared dead on arrival.
Doctors said that X-rays had shown a bullet lodged in his chest.
The confrontation in the Yellow Sea is captured in a video.
"His lungs were full of blood," a hospital staff member said.
The Chinese foreign ministry reacted angrily to the incident and urged immediate action.
"We are deeply shocked and strongly dissatisfied with this violent law enforcement activity," ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.
"We urge South Korea to immediately investigate this case, bring those accountable to justice, and inform China of the result of the investigation in a timely fashion," Hong said.
The South Korean foreign ministry sent its condolences to the dead man's relatives and promised it would take all necessary "follow-up measures".
Illegal fishing by Chinese boats is common in South Korean waters, and scores of vessels are seized every year.
In an incident two years ago, a Chinese fisherman, 44, was fatally wounded by a rubber bullet after the South Korean coastguard boarded his boat, which was suspected of illegal fishing.
In 2011, a coastguard officer was stabbed to death in a struggle with Chinese sailors.
