Ferry Sinks in South Korea, 293 feared missing

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines Wednesday, April 16th, 2014

Mona Ogbeidi

A ferry has capsized and sank in a fog off South Korea’s coast, allegedly leaving about 293 people, who are mostly students on a high school trip missing.

According to reports from a South Korean spokesperson, this morning, about 459 people were on board the ferry, including 325 students, 15 teachers, 89 other passengers and a crew of 30.

So far about 164 people have been rescued, three confirmed dead, while hundreds are still unaccounted for.

At the time of press, it is believed that many people had been trapped inside the ship when it sank.

The ferry traveling to the southern tourist island of Jeju sank at about three hours from it’s destination, whereas a distress call was made around 8p.m last night, 11 hours into the trip.

So far, Search and rescue operatives of about a dozen boats, helicopters, 30 navy and coast guard vessels and divers have been deployed to the distress area.