Deep-sea diver searches for the missing sailors from the Geumseong in waters off Jeju Island, in this photo provided by Jeju Regional Coast Guard, Nov. 8. Yonhap

Deep-sea divers were deployed in waters northwest of the southern island of Jeju on Friday to search for the 10 missing crew members from a fishing boat that sank there on Nov. 8, claiming four lives, rescue officials said.

The 129-ton Geumseong was carrying 27 crew members — 16 Koreans and 11 Indonesians — when it capsized and sank in waters 22 kilometers off Jeju's Biyang Island in the early morning of Nov. 8.

Of the 27, 15 were rescued by a nearby vessel, including two Koreans who were found in a state of cardiac arrest and were later pronounced dead. Two more Korean sailors were found dead in the next two days during the Coast Guard's search operation. The 10 people still missing are eight Koreans and two Indonesians.

On Friday, the eighth day of the search operation, authorities mobilized 37 rescue ships and nine aircraft and expanded the search to an area 111 km wide and 44 km long. In addition, 424 people, including Coast Guard officers and soldiers, were conducting a coastal search.

Notably, two civilian deep-sea divers approached the sunken Geumseong to check the nets connected to the ship. They plan to remove the nets before conducting a search around the hull. (Yonhap)