Two fishermen died and one went missing after their boat was rammed by a barge off South Korea’s southeastern shore, the coast guard said Thursday.

Axar.az reports citing Sputnik that, the collision took place at around 4:42 a.m. local time (19:42 Wednesday) near the port city of Pohang, the Yonhap news agency cited the coast guard as saying.

The 1,207-tonne barge was towed to the port entrance when it hit the 4.6-tonne boat, throwing three fishermen into water. Rescuers retrieved two men but they were pronounced dead at hospital.

Patrol and Navy ships, as well as fishing boats and two helicopters are taking part in the search operation for the third fisherman. The exact cause of the collision is being investigated.