The ferry, carrying mainly school students, was travelling
from the port of Incheon, in the north-west, to the southern resort island of
Jeju.
Emergency teams are using floodlights and flares to search
the stricken vessel through the night. Those rescued have been taken to a
nearby island.
Four people are now said to have died and dozens of others
have been hurt.
South Korean officials had earlier said that 368 people had
been plucked to safety, but later said there had been a counting error.
They have now revised down the number rescued to 174.
Images showed the ferry listing at a severe angle and then
later almost completely submerged, with only a small part of its hull visible.
It sank within two hours of sending a distress signal, reports said.
There are fears this could turn out to be South Korea's
biggest maritime disaster for more than 20 years,
Several coast guard, military and commercial vessels were
involved in the rescue effort, which unfolded rapidly on Wednesday morning.
Pictures from the scene showed rescue teams balanced on the
sinking hull pulling teenagers from cabin windows. Some of their classmates
jumped into the sea as the ship went down.
Reports suggest some of those rescued were picked up by
nearby commercial vessels.
The US Navy has sent an amphibious assault ship, the USS
Bonhomme Richard, to assist with the search, officials say.
Teams of navy divers were now searching the scene for those
unaccounted for, officials said, but the work was challenging.
"There is so much mud in the sea water and the
visibility is very low," said Lee Gyeong-og, vice-minister of security and
public administration.
One body, of a female crew member, had been recovered from
the ship, the coastguard said. Another person, a male high school student, died
after being rescued.
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."
It is not yet clear what caused the incident, but witnesses
described hearing an impact, before the ship listed and quickly sank.
One passenger told the YTN news channel: "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," the passenger said.
Another passenger said the ship was "shaking and
tilting", with people tripping and bumping into each other.
Survivor: "There was an announcement telling us to sit
still, but the ferry was already sinking"
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has expressed sadness
over the incident, saying it was "truly tragic" that students on a
field trip were involved in "such an unfortunate accident".
Kim Young-boong, an official from the company which owns the
ferry, has apologised.
"I would like to say sorry to the passengers, which
include a number of students and their parents, and promise that our company
will do its best to minimise loss of life. We are sorry," he said,
according to the AP news agency.
South Korea ferry
Ferry - named Sewol - was travelling from Incheon to Jeju
Island, a route it serves twice a week
The 146m-long vessel has a capacity of about 900 people but
was carrying about 470 people
Passengers include about 330 students from Danwon High
School in Ansan, a suburb of Seoul
Weather conditions were described as fine. Yonhap news
agency said that the ferry sank at a depth of 30m (90ft).
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).
"We will try to determine the cause of the accident
after rescue operations are over," said Lee Gyeong-og.
Many of the passengers were students from a high school in a
suburb of Seoul heading off on a four-day field trip to Jeju.
Earlier reports put the number of passengers on the ferry at
about 350. The vessel is reported to have a capacity of up to 900 people.
Lee Gyeong-og, the vice-minister of security and public
administration, was quoted by the AP news agency as saying that 30 crew
members, 325 high school students, 15 school teachers and 89 non-student
passengers were aboard the ship.
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