4 Korean injured in crackdown on Chinese fishing vessel

Four South Korean officials were injured on early Monday after they boarded a Chinese vessel suspected of illegally fishing in South Korean waters. The incident took place in waters about 72 kilometers northwest of Heuksan Island in Shinan County, South Jeolla Province, according to South Korea's News Agency "Yonhap". One official who boarded the 227-ton Chinese vessel fell into the sea after being hit with a blunt instrument but was rescued by a South Korean Coast Guard boat. The remaining three officials sustained severe and minor injuries to their heads, arms and legs in an attack by the Chinese fishermen, who brandished knives and scythes. It was not immediately clear whether their injuries were life-threatening. They were taken by a helicopter to a hospital in the coastal city of Mokpo, 410 km south of Seoul, and are being treated, officials said. The Korea Coast Guard seized the Chinese ship and nine sailors aboard, officials said. Chinese vessels have been frequently caught poaching in South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea. South Korea has vowed a tougher crackdown against illegal fishing by Chinese boats since one of its Coast Guard officers was fatally stabbed to death by a Chinese captain in a raid last December. The death sparked public outrage in South Korea and led the two governments to work toward preventing illegal fishing.