Seoul: A South Korean ferry carrying 267 people ran aground on an uninhabited island off the country's southwest coast on Wednesday, authorities reported. The passenger vessel was en route from Jeju Island to the port city of Mokpo when it encountered the incident after 8 pm (1100 GMT), according to the Coast Guard.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, there have been no reports of casualties so far. The Coast Guard has not yet detailed the cause of the grounding. Efforts are currently underway to rescue the 246 passengers and 21 crew members aboard the ferry.
Images released by Yonhap news agency depict the ferry's bow pressed against the island's tree-covered slope. In another photo, passengers can be seen waiting to be rescued, many of them wearing what appear to be life vests.
President Lee Jae Myung has ordered "swift rescue efforts" and has instructed officials to provide real-time updates to the public, as stated by his office. This incident brings back memories of the 2014 disaster when a ferry carrying more than 470 passengers, mostly students on a school trip, capsized off the southwestern coast, resulting in 304 fatalities, marking South Korea's worst maritime disaster. The wreck of the Sewol ferry was salvaged and brought to Mokpo nearly three years later.