S Korean ferry carrying 462 sinks

[SEOUL] More than 280 people were missing after a ferry sank off South Korea, the coastguard said yesterday, with a three-fold increase in the number of passengers unaccounted for put down to a miscalculation by officials.

The ferry was carrying 462 people, of whom 174 were confirmed rescued, coastguard officials said. Four people were confirmed dead after the ferry listed heavily onto its side and capsized in apparently calm conditions off South Korea's south-west coast.

The Ministry of Security and Public Administration had reported that 368 people had been rescued and that about 100 were missing.