Reuters AlertNet Lite - Ferry likely hits whale off S.Korea, 1 person dead

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Ferry likely hits whale off S.Korea, 1 person dead

13 Apr 2007 07:05:42 GMT
Source: Reuters

SEOUL, April 13 (Reuters) - A high-speed ferry travelling from Japan to South Korea apparently struck a whale, leading to one passenger being killed at least 27 others injured, a South Korean maritime official said on Friday.

"Some of the passengers said they saw a pool of what looked like blood at the back of the ship right after the collision," said the official.

The accident took place Thursday night about 15 miles (25 km) from the South Korean port of Pusan. It caused severe damage to the ferry carrying 215 people from the southwest Japanese city of Fukuoka.

The officials were not yet certain if the ship collided with a whale, but think it highly likely because about a dozen whale collisions have been reported the past three years in waters where the ferry was travelling and around Japan's southwest island of Kyushu.

No dead whales have been found yet near the spot of the collision, the official said.

The human fatality was a 75-year-old Korean woman who died on her way to the hospital due to a head injury.

From 1975 to 2002, there were nearly 300 documented cases of vessels hitting whales, with the actual number of strikes likely much higher because most collisions go unreported, according to a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study.

In nearly 70 percent of the documented collisions, the whale was killed, the study said.

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Last updated:Fri Apr 13 07:09:15 2007