South Korea Ship News: Rescue boats and helicopters race to rescue passengers, most of them high school children, from a sinking ferry off the southwest coast of South Korea on Wednesday.
According to The Guardian, at least 295 people are still unaccounted for as efforts continue to pluck passengers aboard the South Korean ferry Sewol.
The South Korean coast guard confirmed two dead but there were fears that many passengers may have been trapped inside the vessel as it listed and sank. More than 400 passengers are on board, which included more than 300 children, of which 164 have was reportedly been rescued.
CNN stated that it's unclear exactly how many of the 477 people on board were rescued. Many jumped from the listing ship to the freezing waters below.
At one point, South Korean authorities said 386 passengers had been rescued and that 104 remain unaccounted for. But later Wednesday, they said they couldn't provide exact numbers.
What is known according to reports is that at least two people, a woman and a student were dead.
The rescue operation was still proceeding six hours after the ferry first sent out distress signal. News agencies said the ferry had sent out a distress signal about 20km (12 miles) off the island of Byungpoong at about 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT).
"Authorities could not immediately say what caused the ship to sink. The weather at the time of the incident in the area was clear," CNN reported.
According to BBC News, it is not yet clear what initiated the incident, but witnesses described hearing an impact, before the ship listed and quickly sank.
"We heard a big thumping sound and the boat stopped. The boat is tilting and we have to hold on to something to stay seated," one passenger told the YTN news channel.
Another passenger said the ship was "shaking and tilting", with people tripping and bumping into each other.
One student told local media her friends became trapped.
"Currently, I am in the middle of being rescued. At the time, the ship was turning on its side, and none of us were moving as we were told not to move as it was dangerous," the unnamed student said.
"So, I am not well aware of the situation, but I am told that my friends and other friends could not escape as the passage was blocked. It seems that there are many students who could not get out as the passage was blocked by water."
Lee Gyeong-og, a vice minister for South Korea's Public Administration and Security Ministry, told a televised news conference that a total of 16 helicopters, 34 rescue vessels and navy divers were sent to the area. In addition, he said that President Park Geun-hye ordered an in-depth rescue operation to prevent deaths.
Fox News reported that later Wednesday, 21 navy and 11 coast guard divers began searching the near-sunken ship for survivors, according to emergency officials.
