Four people were killed and the remaining 14 crew members on board suffered minor injuries as their fishing boat capsized off South Korea's southwestern coast, coast guard officials said Sunday.

The incident took place at 5:57 a.m. on Sunday as the boat overturned in seas off the west coast town of Buan, 204 kilometers south of Seoul, after colliding with a tugboat, officials said.

The four people were found unconscious when they were rescued and the remaining 14 people who were also saved sustained minor injuries, officials said.

The cause of the collision was still under investigation, the coast guard said. (Yonhap)