Thirty three Chinese cruise passengers were recently reported missing after they went on an Asian tour and visited Jeju Island in South Korea.

The Chinese tourists were part of the Costa Classica cruise ship who visited a resort in Jeju Island. According to local police, the group seemed to have jumped ship in order to stay in the country illegally.

The shipped dock in the island 17^th of October, after which a total of 30 males and 14 females disappeared. Only 11 passengers were found in local hotels all over the place.

A Jeju immigration officer said their investigations led to the discovery of the missing tourists’ passports which were left on board. However, their entire luggage was missing. This appears the tourists intended to stay in the island to look for work. However, according to the immigration officer, the agency plans on deporting the missing tourists as soon as they find all of them.

According to an official from the Korean Embassy in Beijing, those 11 tourists found will stay in the local hotels until the search is completed. He further added that there is a big possibility the Chinese nationals will be expelled if found to have intentionally planned to stay. That is part of the Republic of Korea immigration law.

Securities in airports, hotels, ports and all exit points were tightened in the whole island.

An officer from the Korea Tourism Organization in Beijing explained a 30-day tourist visa is typically issued to Chinese passport holders. That is if they arrive directly to Jeju Island on board a cruise ship or from a direct flight. However, if they fail to follow any rules and policies set according by their Chinese travel agencies, local authorities have the right to detain them.

Ding Zhenyi, an employee of SAL Tour travel agency said the entire tour becomes the agency’s responsibility as soon as both parties enter into an agreement. Therefore, any missing clients will be searched for with the assistance of the local authorities.

Costa Classica was supposed to return to Shanghai 10 am Monday morning. It left Shanghai on 15^th October on a four-day cruise to Jeju Island. Costa Cruise representative Bi Qun said this is the line’s first time to encounter any missing passengers.