South Korean Ferry Death Toll Climbs to 4, Many Missing

South Korean Coast Guard officers conduct a last-minute rescue operation around the passenger ferry Sewol sinking in waters off the southwestern coast of South Korea, 16 April 2014. Photo by EPA/Yonhap/BGNES

The latest death toll from the capsized ferry off the coast of South Korea has climbed to 4, with 292 people still unaccounted for.

The Sewol Ferry was carrying 459 people from the port city of Incheon to the resort island Jeju when it capsized at around 9 AM local time on Wednesday, CNN reports. 325 of the passengers were school children from the capital Seoul.

Dozens of rescue ships and helicopters are involved in the search, with the night approaching and temperatures falling. So far 78 students have been pulled to safety from a total of 164 people rescued, South Korea's Security Ministry informed.

Four people have been confirmed dead, one female crew member and three males.

The reasons behind the accident, which happened some 20 km off the southwestern coast of South Korea remain unknown.

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