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Photo shows part of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage capturing the moment the tugboat capsized on the 3rd. / Yonhap

A nighttime search operation has begun to locate six missing crew members from the tugboat TNS Catcher, which capsized off the coast of Busan. Although search operations have entered their fourth day since the accident, the missing individuals have yet to be found.

According to the Busan Coast Guard on the 5th, maritime authorities launched the fourth day of nighttime search operations in the accident area starting around 7 p.m. that day.Six vessels are being deployed for the nighttime search. With a storm surge advisory issued for the sea off Busan, only large vessels of 1,000 tons or more were mobilized.

The Coast Guard plans to conduct maritime searches centered on an area measuring 65 kilometers wide by 31 kilometers long. However, underwater search operations remain difficult due to deteriorating weather conditions.  

The Coast Guard also failed to find any missing persons or lost belongings during that day's daytime search. They searched the lower hull of the container ship Vessel M moored at the pier, but found no notable leads.  

Meanwhile, the TNS Catcher capsized on the afternoon of the 2nd while towing Vessel M approximately 9 kilometers east of Oryukdo Island, Busan. Of the eight crew members aboard the vessel at the time, one was rescued, while another was found unconscious and transported to a hospital but died. The remaining six remain missing.  

                                                                                                           Kim So-young