One person has been killed and two others reported missing after a South Korean patrol ship sunk in waters off the Jeju Island following a collision with a local fishing boat, Press TV reported.
The accident took place on Wednesday night some 9 km northwest of Jeju Port as the naval patrol vessel was conducting a training mission, said a Navy spokesman, Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported Thursday.
According to the Navy, there were 30 soldiers onboard the patrol vessel when it sank following the crash with the 300-ton fishing boat. One soldier was confirmed dead after being transferred to a hospital and two others remained missing, the Navy said.
Several patrol ships have been dispatched to the scene of the accident in an attempt to locate the missing sailors, the Navy said.
"We've rescued 28 fishermen aboard and two are still missing," said a navy spokesman.
"We've sent several patrol ships and copters to the scene to search for the missing," he added.
In March, a South Korean navy ship sank leaving 46 sailors dead. Seoul blamed the incident on North Korea, saying that it fired a torpedo missile at the ship. The North has fiercely rejected the allegation leading to new hostilities between the two Asian neighbors.
The incident comes just one day ahead of the G-20 meeting due to be held in South Korea's capital, Seoul.
Seoul is located just a few hundred miles from North Korea and the South Korean government has put extra security measures in place to ward off any would-be aggressors.