South Korean Ferry Runs Aground, All 246 Passengers Rescued
A South Korean passenger ferry ran aground on rocks off the country’s south-east coast Wednesday evening local time, but all 246 passengers have been safely evacuated, according to the Coast Guard. The 26,000-tonne vessel,the Queen Jenuvia 2,is currently stuck on a reef near Jangsan Island in Sinan county and unable to move.
Coast Guard officials confirmed there is no flooding and no immediate risk of the ferry sinking or capsizing. “We are transferring passengers to patrol boats and moving them to a safe location,” a Coast Guard official told Chosun Ilbo newspaper. Five passengers sustained minor injuries as an inevitable result of the grounding.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has ordered the mobilization of all available vessels to assist in the rescue operation and eventual refloating of the ferry. The Coast Guard plans to move the vessel ashore at high tide.
The Queen jenuvia 2 was en route to the port city of Mokpo after departing from the resort island of Jeju. Some crew members remain on board,collaborating with the Coast Guard; the exact number of staff still aboard is currently unclear.
The incident occurred near the site of the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry,which claimed the lives of over 300 people,many of them school children. The salvaged wreck of the Sewol was brought to Mokpo nearly three years after the disaster.
