Nearly 300 people, mostly students, are reportedly missing after a South Korean ferry sank in the southern coast island while on-board to popular tourist destination, Jeju, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The ferry that carried 459 passengers slowly sank on Wednesday night, leaving 9 passengers dead and 55 others injured,
More than 169 vessels and 29 aircrafts were deployed by authorities to locate the missing 292 passengers, who were mostly students from a local high school.
Sewol, a 6,000-ton vessel, sent a distress signal at around 9:00 AM while it was en route from Incheon port to Jeju Island after it was severely hit by a rock.
The ferry tilted and overturned, causing it to sink in just several hours near Byeongpung Island. Rescuers from the Korean coastguard immediately responded upon receiving the signal and were able to pull-out few passengers before it completely submerged in the sea.
The Minister of Security and Public Administration, Kang Byung-Kyu said in a press conference that search and rescue is on-going and cranes will be sent to lift the sunken ferry where many passengers were believed to be trapped.
The Associated Press reported that the seawater was 2 degrees Celsius cold that would make the search and rescue difficult. Adding to the burden of search are the muds in the ocean floor, and the bad weather conditons.
Lee Gyeong-og, South Korea's Vice Minister of Public Administration and Security, told the reporters that the ocean is 121 feet deep.
'Can't get out'
YTN, Korea's news channel through Reuters, reported that a student sent his father a text message while the ship is sinking.
"Dad, I can't walk out because the ship is tilted too much, and I don't see anyone in the corridor," the father showed the text to the network.
A passenger also told YTN that they were not instructed to escape and instead, they were told not to move and remain still even if the waters were already rushing in the ferry.
'I love you'
LA Times reported that one of the students sent a text message to his mother that appeared to be his last words. "Mom, this might be my last chance to tell you I love you," the text said.
His mother replied to ask what was happening, but she did not get any response. The plight of the student is still unknown as the search and rescue operations continue.
The students that were on-board in the Korean ferry were from Danwon High School in Ansan. They were on their way to Jeju for a 4-day educational tour.
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