(LEAD) Four Chinese killed in Cambodian-flagged cargo ship fire off S. Korean coast

BUSAN, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- Four Chinese sailors were killed and five were rescued from a fire on a Cambodia-flagged cargo ship off South Korea's southeastern coast, the Coast Guard here said Friday.

The 1,500-ton Yunxing, carrying nine crew members, caught fire around 6:50 a.m. in waters two nautical miles from Busan, a South Korean port city 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Coast Guard. The fire was put out after about an hour.

The Coast Guard said it suspects that a short circuit caused the blaze.

One rescued crew member told investigators the fire started in a kitchen on the first floor of the vessel.

The ship's crew comprised eight Chinese and one from Myanmar. There was no cargo aboard the ship at the time of the fire, the Coast Guard said.

brk@yna.co.kr
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