(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) A passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, mostly high school students, sank off South Korea's southern coast on Wednesday, leaving at least two people dead and 107 others missing, Yonhap News Agency reported
A total of 368 people have been confirmed rescued as of 1:00 pm (0400 GMT), including 13 injured, but the death toll could rise sharply as 107 others remain unaccounted for amid fears that they could be trapped inside the sunken vessel, the report said
The 6,325-ton Sewol was carrying 477 people, including 325 students on a school trip, when it sent out a distress signal at around 8:58 a.m. (2358 Tuesday GMT) in waters 20 kilometers off the island of Byeongpoong, according to the Coast Guard and a government official
The ship completely capsized in about two hours, the Coast Guard said, adding that most of the students had been rescued from the capsized ferry without giving further information. The cause of the accident and the condition of those rescued were not immediately known. The ferry set off from the western port of Incheon on Tuesday evening and was to arrive at the southern resort island of Jeju later on Wednesday
The Navy dispatched 22 vessels and a helicopter for rescue and search operation, while preparing to send Navy special forces and an underwater demolition team to rescue passengers who jumped into the water wearing life jackets after the captain told them to abandon the ship
The Air Force dispatched a C-130 military transport aircraft carrying life boats, while the Army sent about 10 helicopters and the emergency rescue teams. President Park Geun-hye ordered maximum efforts to rescue all of the passengers, stressing that all available Navy, Coast Guard and other vessels nearby should be mobilized to make sure that not a single life is lost
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