(LEAD) Nine fishermen missing in boat capsizing off southwestern coast

(ATTN: UPDATES with President Yoon's message; CHANGES dateline)

SEOUL/SINAN, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Coast Guard rescue crews were searching Sunday for nine people whose boat capsized in waters off South Korea's southwestern coast.

It was reported at 11:19 p.m. Saturday that the 24-ton vessel had overturned in waters 16.6 kilometers west of the island of Daebichi, the authorities said. The uninhabited island lies some 20 km from the southwestern county of Sinan.

Three of the crew were rescued by a nearby boat, with the nine others still missing amid the possibility that they were locked inside of the capsized boat, according to the authorities.

President Yoon Suk Yeol urged maximum efforts for the search and rescue of the missing people.

He ordered the mobilization of all available resources by widening the search and rescue area, presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said.

He also emphasized the need for the full support of the families of the missing, as he ordered the dispatch of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and Oceans Minister Cho Seung-hwan to the site, Kim added.

khj@yna.co.kr
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