More than 300 people missing after South Korean ferry sinks

Almost 300 people missing after a ferry sank off South Korea

Almost 300 people were missing after a ferry sank off South Korea on Wednesday, the coastguard said, in what could be the country's biggest peacetime disaster in nearly 20 years.

The ferry was carrying 459 people, of whom 164 were rescued, coastguard officials said. Two people were confirmed dead after the ferry listed heavily onto its side and capsized in apparently calm conditions off South Korea's southwest coast.