293 missing as South Korea ferry carrying students sinks

293 people, mostly students who were on a
high school trip, are missing after a ferry
capsized & sank in dense fog off South
Korea's coast last night, local media reports.
A South Korean government spokesman told
reporters this morning that there had been
459 people on board the ferry, including 325
students, 15 teachers, 89 other passengers
and a crew of 30.
So far 164 people have been rescued, three
confirmed dead, while hundreds are still
unaccounted for. One rescued passenger told
The Associated Press he believed that many
people had been trapped inside the ship when
it sank.
The ferry had been traveling to the southern
tourist island of Jeju when it sank just three
hours from it's destination. The distress call
was made around 8p.m last night, 11 hours
into the trip. Continue...
Dozens of boats, helicopters, 30 navy and
coast guard vessels and divers are around the
area trying to find survivors.
The ferry has a capacity of about 900 people
and was built in Japan in 1994.