Distress call by S Korean ship with 470 passengers, rescue underway

, April 16: A passenger ferrying 470 passengers, most of them students, is reported to have been listing badly off South Korea's southwest coast and had sent a distress call, said a Korean coast guard official on Wednesday. A

mission is underway.

A Korean television news channel reports that the students were on their way to a school trip to Jeju islands, which is 100 km off the coast. The report also informed that 100 passengers had already been rescued.

The ferry, which also has the capacity of carrying trucks and cars, has also the capacity of about 900 people. A passenger on board said that a helicopter had reached them and that the passengers were in their cabins, but were finding it difficult to maintain their balance.

The reason behind the accident is still uncertain as experts discount the factor of heavy fog that has set in the area. This had led to the cancellation of many passenger ferry services to islands.

OneIndia News