Four dead, 291 missing in S. Korea ferry sinking

JINDO: South Korean rescuers, including elite navy SEAL divers, worked frantically under floodlights Wednesday to find nearly 300 people missing after a ferry sank with 459 on board, mostly high school students bound for a holiday island.

Lee Gyeong-Og, the vice minister of security and public administration, said 164 people had been rescued, leaving 291 "unaccounted for". There were four confirmed deaths, including a female crew member and a student.

There are fears the confirmed death toll could rise sharply. The 6,825-tonne Sewol listed violently, capsized and finally sank -- all within two hours of sending a distress signal at 9:00am (0000 GMT).

"I´m afraid there´s little chance for those trapped inside still to be alive," one senior rescue team official, Cho Yang-Bok, told YTN television as teams of divers struggled to access the submerged, multi-storey ferry.

Dramatic television footage showed terrified passengers wearing life jackets clambering into inflatable boats as water lapped over the rails of the vessel as it sank 20 kilometres (13 miles) off the southern island of Byungpoong.

Some could be seen sliding down the steeply inclined side of the ferry and into the water, as rescuers, including the crew of what appeared to be a small fishing boat, pulled them to safety.

As night fell the coastguard said the rescue operation was continuing using floodlights and underwater flares.

Several rescued passengers said they had initially been ordered to stay in their seats, but then the ferry suddenly listed to one side, triggering panic. (AFP)