SEOUL/TOKYO, March 21 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean chemical tanker has
capsized off Japan''s west coast, leaving one South Korean dead and
another missing, officials said.

Eight of the 11 crew members on board the Keoyoung Sun vessel died
after it capsized in waters near an island off the city of
Shimonoseki in the Yamaguchi Prefecture on Wednesday, Seoul''s foreign
ministry and Japanese news outlets said, citing Japan''s coast guard
officials.

The crew members included two South Koreans, including the captain,
as well as eight Indonesians and one Chinese.

The vessel made a distress call to the Japanese Coast Guard at around
7 a.m., reporting it was tilting before capsizing at around 8 a.m.

Nine members were initially rescued and transported to a hospital,
but eight of them died, including one South Korean. The crew member
confirmed alive is from Indonesia and reportedly in stable condition.

The coast guard is still conducting rescue operations to search for
the two missing, including one South Korean.

The tanker, carrying 980 tons of acrylic acid, apparently departed
from the Japanese port of Himeji on Monday and was en route to South
Korea''s southeastern port of Ulsan but was anchoring near Mutsure
Island due to high waves and strong winds.

No leak of chemicals has been detected.

South Korea''s foreign ministry on Wednesday said it has set up a task
force to check for progress in the search and rescue operations in
the area.