Rescuers work to find hundreds missing in S Korea ferry

JINDO, South Korea, Apr 17 (AFP): Rescuers worked frantically Thursday to find 300 people-mostly schoolchildren-missing after a South Korean ferry capsized, with prospects of pulling survivors from the submerged vessel dimming as emotions boiled over among anguished relatives.

Worsening weather fuelled the sombre mood, with persistent rain and choppy seas further hindering dive teams already struggling with low visibility and strong currents.

Nine people were confirmed dead, but with every hour that passed fears mounted for the 287 still unaccounted for after the multi-deck vessel with 475 on board suddenly listed, capsized and then sank within the space of 90 minutes on Wednesday morning.

"Honestly, I think the chances of finding anyone alive are close to zero," a coastguard official told an AFP journalist on one of the boats at the site.

Naval and coastguard vessels had used floodlights and flares throughout the night to maintain a search now involving more than 500 divers, 169 vessels and 29 aircraft.

But distraught relatives gathered in a gymnasium on nearby Jindo island insisted more should be done, and vented their grief and frustration to anyone who would listen.

"Get my child out of that ship! Dead or alive," one distraught father repeatedly shouted to rescue and local government officials.

A total of 375 high school students were on board, travelling with their teachers to the popular island resort of Jeju.

When South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won visited the gymnasium in Jindo on Thursday morning, he was jostled and shouted at, and water bottles were thrown.

"Don't run away, Mr. Prime Minister!" one mother said, blocking Chung as he tried to leave. "Please tell us what you're planning to do."

The coastguard said 179 people had been rescued-a figure that has remained constant since the evening before, further undermining hopes of more survivors being found.