'The ship went boom': Survivors speak of chaos as South Korea ferry started to sink
Survivors speak of chaos as the ferry tilted and desperate attempts to escape the sinking vessel by jumping into the sea or into inflatable boats
The Sewol ferry left the Port of Incheon two hours late on Tuesday night, waiting for a veil of fog to lift, easing the craft's journey southwards.
The craft was about half full. Of the 462 passengers aboard, 325 of them were students from a high school in Ansan city, near Seoul. Fifteen teachers were escorting them on a four-day trip to Jeju island to see the wonders of the volcanic formation, the waterfalls and lava tubes nestled by the country's tallest peak.
There are faster ways to get to Jeju, but many people take the ferry because it is cheaper than flying. Many South Korean high schools organise trips for students in their first or second years, and Jeju is known as a popular destination.
I was so cold. I was hurrying, thinking that I wanted to live
The boys and girls aboard were second-year students, most of them aged 16 or 17. They had settled in for a 14-hour journey.
After breakfast, passenger Kim Seong-mok said he felt the ferry tilt. Then he heard the vessel hit something.
Cha Eun-ok said she was on deck taking photographs. "The ship went 'boom' and there was a noise of cargo falling," she said.
The boat was a few kilometres off the shore of Byeongpung island.
The area was clear of fog, unlike further north up the coast, which had been shrouded in heavy fog that led to the cancellation of many ferry services.