A Chinese fisherman called Song was shot dead by the South Korean coast guard Friday morning in what the coast guard claimed was its crackdown on illegal fishing.

It happened at about 8:30 a.m. local time in waters some 144 km west of the Wangdeung Island in Buan County, North Jeolla Province.

Song was taken to a nearby Mokpo Hankook Hospital in the southwestern city of Mokpo by helicopter, receiving the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but was confirmed dead on the way.