Rescue boats and helicopters scrambled to pluck passengers, most of them high school students, from a ferry as it slowly sank off the southwest coast of South Korea early Wednesday.
Of the 459 people on board, 164 have been rescued, the security ministry said. Many jumped from the listing ship to the freezing waters of the Yellow Sea.
At least two people — a woman and a student — were confirmed dead. Another 293 remain unaccounted for, the ministry said.
The rescue operation was still underway Wednesday evening, hours after the ferry first sent out a distress signal.
Authorities could not immediately say what caused the ship to sink. The weather at the time of the incident was clear, CNN informs.
