The unforgiving waters around Antarctica.<br/> Three ships have encountered trouble here in the past 13 months.<br/> The latest is the Jeong Woo 2.<br/> The vessel caught fire and its crew of 40 issued a distress call from the Southern Ocean near the Antarctic ice shelf.<br/> A New Zealand search and rescue officer says most were rescued. But several are still missing and hopes of finding them alive are slim.<br/> (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR SEARCH AND RESCUE OFFICER AT RESCUE COORDINATION CENTRE OF NEW ZEALAND, MIKE ROBERTS:<br/> "Of the 40 people on board, three are unaccounted for. We think they probably died in the fire. A further two are severely burned, and a few others, maybe five or six, have received lighter burn injuries."<br/> In December 2010 another South Korean ship sank in the area resulting in 22 fatalities.<br/> Simon Hanna, Reuters.
