SHIPWRECKED

Rescue Underway as Passenger Ferry Carrying 267 Runs Aground

The incident prompted an urgent evacuation order from the highest levels of government.

At least five people were injured after a ferry containing 267 passengers ran aground on a remote island off the coast of South Korea. The incident occurred after 8 p.m. local time as the vessel, the Queen Jenuvia 2, was traveling from Jeju Island to the port city of Mokpo, on the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsula. The incident prompted the country’s president to issue an urgent evacuation order. Footage from the scene showed the ferry’s bow firmly planted into the slope of a small, tree-covered island, while another showed passengers wearing life vests as they awaited rescue ships. The country’s prime minister, Kim Min-seok, said all available vessels and workforce had been mobilised to rescue the passengers. The swift response was in part a reaction to the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014, the country’s worst-ever maritime disaster, which saw more than 300 people, many of them schoolchildren, die in similar circumstances in the same part of the peninsula. No casualties were reported on board the Queen Jenuvia 2, although five people received treatment for minor injuries, according to local news reports.