By HYUNG-JIN KIM,

AP

Posted: 2007-12-25 04:01:50

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Fourteen sailors aboard a ship carrying toxic chemicals remained missing Tuesday after their vessel disappeared off the southern coast of South Korea, Coast Guard officials said.

The South Korean ship was carrying 2,000 tons of nitric acid, but it is unlikely to pose a threat to the ocean or marine life since the chemical dilutes easily, said Choi Eun-ju, a regional Coast Guard officer.

South Korea’s Coast Guard and navy started searching for the ship shortly after it sent out a distress signal off Yeosu, 283 miles south of Seoul, early Tuesday, said spokesman Kang Byung-mun.

One sailor- identified as a 28-year-old Burmese – was found floating at sea hours later, but the other 14 crew members – 12 South Koreans and two from Myanmar – were still missing, Kang said. The survivor was taken to a hospital but was unconscious.

The rescue team has yet to find the ship’s wreckage. However, authorities believe the vessel may have sunk since no signals have been detected from it for more than 12 hours, Kang said.

The ship was sailing to Taiwan after leaving the southern port city of Gwangyang on Monday night, he said.

The news comes as South Korea battles to contain the nation’s worst-ever oil spill, which has blackened beaches and jeopardized the ecosystem along the country’s west coast. A wayward barge hit a supertanker on Dec. 7 causing the tanker to leak 78,920 barrels of oil.

A boat sent to measure the acidity of the waters had to sail back to shore due to high waves, said Song Hae-mi, another Coast Guard officer. A thin oil slick believed to be from the ship’s fuel tanker was spotted on the waters.