A fishing vessel sank off the coast of the southern port city of Busan late Friday morning, leaving one person dead and another missing.

The Ulsan Coast Guard said it had dispatched four patrol boats and an aircraft after receiving a distress signal around 11:50 a.m. from the 79-ton single trawl fishing vessel, which sank about 61-point-6 kilometers east of Songjeong Harbor.

Seven crew members were pulled from the water, but one remains missing.

The captain, in his 60s, was found unconscious and later pronounced dead at a hospital.

The privately owned vessel had departed from Busan on Tuesday morning for fishing operations, and survivors said it began sinking while hauling in nets.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the sinking.