All 110 people rescued in ferry accident

This smartphone photo shows fishing boats rescuing passengers from the ferry Vacance, which struck a rock off Hongdo Island, South Jeolla Province, on Tuesday morning. All the passengers and crew members onboard were rescued. / Yonhap

By Kim Se-jeong

A ferry got stuck on a submerged rock in waters off the southwestern coast Tuesday, but all 109 passengers and crew members onboard were rescued.

According to the Coast Guard, the 171-ton ferry Vacance struck a rock off Hongdo Island, South Jeolla Province, at 9:11 a.m.

Coast Guard boats and fishing vessels nearby rushed to the scene and rescued all the passengers in just 20 minutes.

A witness surnamed Chung, who was onboard another ferry when the Vacance was stranded, said rescue operations were quick.

“Coast Guard patrol boats, about 10 fishing boats and three other ferries rushed to the Vacance and rescued everyone,” Chung said.

The rescued passengers and five crew members were taken to a port on the island.

The incident is a reminder of the Sewol ferry disaster which cost more than 300 lives after it capsized in waters off the southwestern coast near Jindo Island in April.

Vacance is older than Sewol

Tuesday’s incident raised alarming facts about the safety of the Vacance.

The ship, which has a capacity of 355 passengers, was built in Japan in 1987, making it seven years older than the Sewol.

The Coast Guard extended the license for the Vacance by another 10 years in May, despite calls from islanders that the ferry was too old to be carrying passengers. In March, 70 residents filed a petition to the Coast Guard in Mokpo not to extend the license to no avail.

The Coast Guard may face an investigation regarding the issue.

“We knew about the ferry’s possible safety problems and requested the authorities to stop from operating. But our voice wasn’t heard. What happened today could have been prevented,” said Kim Jeong-nam, one of the islanders who filed the petition.