4 dead, hundreds missing after South Korean ferry sinks
Posted April 16, 2014 7:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A passenger ship with 459 people aboard, mostly high school students, sank in the waters off South Korea’s southwestern coast Wednesday morning, leaving at least four people dead and nearly 300 others missing, according to local authorities.
The 6,325-ton passenger ship “SEWOL” capsized and sank into the waters off Jindo Island, just off the southwest corner of the Korean Peninsula at around 11:30 local time.
The ship sent out a distress signal and tilted for two-and-a-half hours.
The passengers on board included 325 high school students and 15 teachers on a school trip.
The vessel is believed to have run aground as some of the rescued passengers have said the ship began to tilt to the port side after a banging sound was heard from the bow.
The ferry had veered off its pre-arranged route after thick fog delayed its departure for two-and-a-half hours.
Lee Kyung-ok, vice minister of the Security and Public Administration Ministry, said 350 more rescuers were dispatched to the scene to help search for those still missing, some of whom are believed to be trapped inside the sunken vessel.
After receiving the distress signal, the South Korean authorities, including police, firefighters, coast guard and navy, dispatched 72 rescue ships and scrambled 18 helicopters to the scene.
