Rescuers reach stranded South Korean ferry off coast

A South Korean passenger ferry carrying 267 passengers and crew was stranded after it ran aground at the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsula, and a rescue operation was ongoing to bring them ashore, the coast guard said.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who was traveling in the Middle East, ordered the rapid rescue of everyone on board to prevent casualties and operation details from becoming public as they emerged, Yonha News Agency reported.

In the statement made by the coast guard, it was stated that the authorities mobilized all possible resources in the rescue operation.

The coast guard stated that there has been no loss of life so far and the boat has not taken on water.

According to the coast guard, the 26,000-ton ferry was heading to Mokpo from Jeju Island.

A coastguard official said the ferry crashed into a rocky island near Jindo.

Video footage shows passengers wearing life jackets waiting to be transferred to rescue boats approaching the ferry.

The bow of the ship appeared to be stuck on the edge of a small island, but it appeared upright and the passengers were calm.

It was reported that the weather conditions at the scene were good and there was light wind.

The area is near the site where the Sewol ferry sank in 2014, killing more than 300 people, mostly schoolchildren on a school trip.