At least six people were killed and 179 were rescued, the authorities said. The fate the remaining 290 were unknown.
Of 475 people on board the ill-fated ship, 375 and 14 are students and teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, respectively, who were on a four-day field trip to Jeju Island.
The 6,825-ton Sewol capsized near Jindo, South Jeolla Province, after sending an SOS message at around 8:58 a.m. Wednesday. It was heading to the island after departing from Incheon.
President Park Geun-hye ordered relevant authorities to “mobilize all manpower and equipment to rescue survivors.”
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com