Maritime police said a Panama-registered freighter sank off Jeju Island Monday night, leaving one crewman missing.

Police said the 4,000-ton Triumph Kaohsiung went down around 11:25 p.m. in seas 51 miles off the island.

The ship, which left Pohang Sunday afternoon, was en route to Taiwan's Kaohsiung Port with various kinds of steel products aboard.

Police said the freighter apparently foundered after the binding of steel products became loose amid bad weather and damaged the ship's outer walls.

Nineteen crew members were rescued by a Japanese patrol boat, but one crew man remains missing.


YH/CHP