All 246 passengers of a South Korean passenger ferry have been rescued after it ran aground on rocks off the nation’s south-east coast, in response to the Coast Guard.
Officers added that the Queen Jenuvia 2 is caught on a reef and unable to maneuver, however there’s at the moment no danger of sinking or capsizing.
The accident occurred close to Jangsan Island in Sinan County on Wednesday night native time. The vessel ran aground on rocks close to the uninhabited island of Jogdo.
Native media reported that 5 folks sustained minor accidents from the influence of the grounding, however there have been no different casualties.
Some crew members are reportedly nonetheless on board in collaboration with the coast guard. It’s unclear how lots of the 21 ferry employees stay on the ferry.
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has ordered all accessible vessels to be mobilised to rescue the ferry.
“We now have confirmed that there’s at the moment no flooding. We’re transferring passengers to patrol boats and transferring them to a secure location,” a Coast Guard official mentioned, Chosun Ilbo newspaper experiences.
The Coast Guard plans to maneuver the vessel ashore at excessive tide.
The 26,000-tonne ferry was travelling to the port metropolis of Mokpo after departing from the resort island of Jeju, carrying 246 passengers and 21 crew members, officers mentioned.
The world is close to the location of the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014 that killed greater than 300 folks, largely faculty kids heading for a faculty journey.
The salvaged wreck of the Sewol ferry was dropped at Mokpo almost three years later.
