All 246 passengers of a South Korean passenger ferry have been rescued after it ran aground on rocks off the country’s south-east coast, according to the Coast Guard.
Officials added that the Queen Jenuvia 2 is stuck on a reef and unable to move, but there is currently no risk of sinking or capsizing.
The accident happened near Jangsan Island in Sinan County on Wednesday evening local time. The vessel ran aground on rocks near the uninhabited island of Jogdo.
Local media reported that five people sustained minor injuries from the impact of the grounding, but there have been no other casualties.
Some crew members are reportedly still on board in collaboration with the coast guard. It is unclear how many of the 21 ferry staff remain on the ferry.
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has ordered all available vessels to be mobilised to rescue the ferry.
“We have confirmed that there is currently no flooding. We are transferring passengers to patrol boats and moving them to a safe location,” a Coast Guard official said, Chosun Ilbo newspaper reports.
The Coast Guard plans to move the vessel ashore at high tide.
The 26,000-tonne ferry was travelling to the port city of Mokpo after departing from the resort island of Jeju, officials said.
The area is near the site of the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014 that killed more than 300 people, mostly school children heading for a school trip.
The salvaged wreck of the Sewol ferry was brought to Mokpo nearly three years later.
