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| South Korea Investigates Deaths of 3 Chinese Fishermen in Crackdown | South Korea Investigates Deaths of 3 Chinese Fishermen in Crackdown |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean Coast Guard officials said on Friday that they were investigating the deaths of three Chinese fishermen whose boat caught fire during a crackdown on illegal fishing. | SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean Coast Guard officials said on Friday that they were investigating the deaths of three Chinese fishermen whose boat caught fire during a crackdown on illegal fishing. |
| The unlicensed fishing boat with 17 crew members on board was stopped on suspicion of poaching in waters off South Korea’s southwestern coast on Thursday, a statement from the coast guard said. | |
| When the crew members locked themselves in a steering cabin to resist an attempt to search the vessel and question them, coast guard officers threw flashbang grenades into the cabin, the statement said. The grenades are nonlethal devices that produce a blinding flash of light and loud sound. | |
| The boat soon caught fire. Although the officers rescued 14 fishermen, they later found the other three dead, apparently from inhaling toxic fumes from the fire. The coast guard said autopsies were planned to determine the causes of their deaths. It was also investigating what had caused the fire. | |
| Officials in South Korea have long complained about the growing numbers of Chinese boats that they say are venturing farther from their increasingly barren home waters to poach near South Korea. | Officials in South Korea have long complained about the growing numbers of Chinese boats that they say are venturing farther from their increasingly barren home waters to poach near South Korea. |
| In 2014, a Chinese captain died from a bullet wound during a clash between South Korean Coast Guard officials cracking down on Chinese ships suspected of poaching and Chinese crewmen resisting them with homemade weapons. | In 2014, a Chinese captain died from a bullet wound during a clash between South Korean Coast Guard officials cracking down on Chinese ships suspected of poaching and Chinese crewmen resisting them with homemade weapons. |
| In 2012, a Chinese fisherman was killed by a rubber bullet fired by a South Korean officer. A year earlier, a South Korean officer was stabbed to death by a Chinese fisherman. | In 2012, a Chinese fisherman was killed by a rubber bullet fired by a South Korean officer. A year earlier, a South Korean officer was stabbed to death by a Chinese fisherman. |
| The Chinese government’s reaction to the deaths of the fishermen suggests that it may not want the episode to worsen ties already strained by the planned deployment of an advanced American missile defense system in South Korea. | |
| When asked about the matter on Friday in Beijing, Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said Chinese diplomats were working with South Korean officials to resolve the status of the surviving crew members and preserve the remains of those killed. | |
| Mr. Geng said China had asked South Korea to “carry out comprehensive, objective and unbiased investigations in collaboration with China.” |