[News Today] Dangerous nighttime diving

[LEAD]
Ports and harbors in Jeju-do Island continue to see water play accidents, especially at night when safety oversight is minimal.

With unclear legal grounds for an outright ban, calls are growing for urgent measures to prevent further casualties.

[REPORT]
Late at night, young people including students crowd at a port.

It's a diving hot spot famous on social media.

People seem to stop while a boat sails by, but diving soon resumes.

It's hard to tell how deep the water is and there are underwater hazards like abandoned fishing gear, but that doesn't seem to deter the divers.

Warning signs banning diving and safety fences are practically ignored.

Kim Tae-su / Yongdam Port Security Guard
They dive while drunk, which is very dangerous. They can't see the fishing boats leave or return to port in the dark late at night.

Diving strictly banned in all areas.

During the day, local authorities are out advising people on safety.

They issue warnings for unauthorized use of the area under the Fishing Villages and Fishery Harbors Act.

But opinions differ on whether swimming can be considered unauthorized use, making it difficult to enforce an outright ban.

Yang Woo-cheon / Jeju City Gov't
With gaps in laws and regulations, we need to find measures, such as placing safety personnel at ports at night to prevent swimming.

Five people died and one was seriously injured while swimming or diving this summer in Jeju.

Among them, four casualties occurred at ports and harbors.