Passenger ship carrying 163 people runs aground
After a passenger ship ran aground near Shinan county in South Jeolla Province on Sunday afternoon, passengers move to a coast guard boat. / Yonhap
A passenger ship carrying 163 people became stuck on rocks in waters off South Korea's southwestern coast Sunday, but all on board were rescued, the Coast Guard said.
The 223 ton-ferry with 158 passengers and five crew on board ran aground at around 3:47 p.m. near Shinan county, 400 km south of Seoul, according to officials.
The Coast Guard said that the ship hit rocks while moving through dense fog. Some said that the accident occurred as the ferry tried to avoid colliding with a fishing boat.
According to officials, the Coast Guard rescued all of those aboard and transported them to another ferry in the vicinity using a small boat at around 5:14 p.m.
Six passengers sustained mild injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital, they added.
South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said that it started operation of an emergency management center to handle the case shortly after the accident was reported.
"We've got a report that rescue operations are under way," a presidential official earlier said.
The office briefed Moon's chief of staff Im Jong-seok over the accident. Im is accompanying President Moon Jae-in on a trip to Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
South Korea is sensitive to the occurrence of maritime accidents following the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry in April 2014.
The 6,800-ton Sewol sank in waters off the country's southwest coast, claiming the lives of 304 people, most of them teenage students on a school trip. (Yonhap)