Seoul, South Korea- "Dad, I can't walk out because the ship is tilted too much, and I don't see anyone in the corridor."
Those were the last words texted by a student to his dad while the South Korean ferry, Sewol tilted, capsized and later on, sank on Wednesday.
The student is among the more than 400 passengers that were carried by the South Korean ferry that left an estimated number of 9 dead, 55 injured and 292 missing. About 179 passengers were already rescued while the number of casualties is expected to rise. Most of them were believed to be trapped at the ferry.
More than 300 of the passengers were students from a local high school in Ansan town who were having a 4-day educational trip at the famous Jeju Island.
Sewol sent distress signals at around 9 a.m., three hours after it took off from Incheon. It was allegedly struck by a rock near Byeongpung Island which is about 270 kilometers away from South Korea's capital, Seoul.
Coast guard rescued the passengers while the ship sank. "This ship is taking water and sinking," the spokesman of the Korean coastguard told AFP.
President Park Geun-hye of South Korea assured the public that authorities are doing their best to rescue the missing passengers.
Already, coastguard vessels, commercial ships and helicopters were deployed to conduct search and rescue operations.
Lee Gyeong-og, vice minister for Security and Public Administration said in a press conference that 18 helicopters and 34 rescue boats have been deployed to the area to conduct search and rescue.
He added that 4 cranes will also be in-charge of the ship's lifting that would take about two days.
Authorities claim that Sewol sank approximately at a depth of 30 meters and that the water was described as "very cold" as its temperature is approximated at 12 degrees Centigrade. Long exposure to the sea water might cause hypothermia, officials reported.
Disappointment
Parents and other kin of the missing passengers flocked at a South Korean port in Jindo as the search continues. Most of them expressed disappointment over the misleading update that circulated prior to the sinking.
"If I could teach myself to dive, I would jump in the water and try to find my daughter," Park Yung-suk told Reuters.
Another father said, "Even specially-trained soldiers' conducting rescue operations were even nervous if they get stranded at the area, what more the children?"
"i felt like my heart stopped." a mother said.
Kim Seong-mok, a passenger of Sewol ferry told YTN that the ferry operator advised them to wait and stay at their places and that there were no announcement telling them to escape.
The 6, 000-ton Sewol was customed in Japan and owned by Chonghaejin Marine. It travels twice a week to Jeju Island and could load more than 900 passengers.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
