Seoul, April 16 (IANS) A passenger ship with 471 people aboard, mostly high school students, was sinking in waters off South Korea’s coast, the media reported Wednesday.

The 6,825-tonne passenger ship “SEWOL” was sinking in waters off the Jindo Island, just off South Korea’s southwest corner, sending out a distress signal at around 8:55 a.m. Wednesday. The ship careened around 60 degrees to the port, Xinhua quoted local broadcaster YTN as saying.

Among the 471 people on board, 190 people were rescued till 10:20 a.m.

After the report, the South Korean navy dispatched seven patrol ships and scrambled a helicopter to the scene for rescue operations.

The ship departed from South Korea’s eastern port city of Incheon for the country’s southern Jeju Island.