South Korea ferry to Jeju sank Wednesday April 16 says coastguard, and now more than 300 people are missing. The South Korea ferry to Jeju sank off South Korean seas and according to the coastguard, this incident could be one of the country's peacetime disaster in nearly 20 years.

The South Korea ferry to Jeju sank and it was carrying 459 people in its voyage. 164 of the passengers were already rescued according to coastguard officials. However, three people were already confirmed dead. According to reports, the South Korea ferry to Jeju sank when it listed heavily onto its side and capsized in surprisingly calm conditions off South Korea's southwest coast.

An earlier report by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration said that 368 people had been rescued after the South Korea ferry to Jeju sank, and about 100 were missing. However, the Ministry reported the numbers a miscalculation, and now the largely successful rescue operation after South Korea ferry to Jeju sank turned into a major disaster.

Many of the passengers carried when South Korea ferry to Jeju sank were children, their teachers from a high school in Seoul. The students and teachers were on a field trip to Jeju island, about 100 km (60 miles) south of the Korean peninsula. The South Korean ship was also carrying 150 vehicles, said officials. As the South Korea ferry to Jeju sank, witnesses of the horrible incident said many people were likely still inside the vessel.

The cause of the catastrophe after the South Korea ferry to Jeju sank which left 3 dead and hundreds missing is still not clear, but reports say it sank due to some sort of impact on the South Korean vessel.

A passenger on deck witnessed the entire tragedy when the South Korea ferry to Jeju sank. Cha Eun-ok, the witness, said she was on deck of the ferry taking photographs when the disaster began. "It was fine then the ship went 'boom' and there was a noise of cargo falling. The on-board announcement told people to stay put ... people who stayed are trapped.", Cha Eun-ok said in an interview in Jindo, the nearest town from the scene of the accident.

The South Korea ferry to Jeju sank when it started registering poorly about 20 km (12 miles) off the southwest coast while on its way to Jeju Island. A crew member of a government ship rescuing passengers as the South Korea ferry to Jeju sank, said he had spoken to the vessel's crew. Apparently, some sort of malfunction caused the sinking of the vessel.

Quite a few survivors reportedly heard a "loud impact" when the ship started listing and rolling on its side and the South Korea ferry to Jeju sank. A couple of hours later, the Sewol was lying on its port side and after that the ship had completely turned over, with only the forward part of its white and blue hull showing above the water.

Coastguard vessels and fishing boats immediately went to rescue the passengers as the South Korea ferry to Jeju sank. TV footages show rescuers pulling passengers in life vests and out of the water as rescue boats lie beside the ferry. While some passengers were being put on rescue boats, others were taken to safety by helicopters.

South Korea ferry to Jeju sank prompting a rescue involving close to 100 coastguard and navy vessels and fishing boats, and 18 helicopters. The ferry has a capacity of around 900 passengers.