South Korea ferry runs aground after officer distracted by phone: coast guard

A South Korean ferry ran aground after the helmsman became distracted by his mobile phone, a member of the coast guard told AFP on Thursday.

All 267 passengers and crew were safely brought to a nearby port after the ferry crashed on an uninhabited island off of South Korea's southwestern coast.

The passenger vessel was travelling from Jeju Island to the port city of Mokpo when it ran aground after 8:00 pm (1100 GMT) on Wednesday, authorities said.

A preliminary investigation found that "the officer responsible for steering had been looking at his mobile phone and allowed autopilot to take control in an area where the ship should have been manually operated", a Korea Coast Guard official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"As a result, the vessel missed the proper moment to change course, veered toward the uninhabited island and ran aground." 

The Coast Guard plans to press criminal charges against the individual as it was "clear negligence", the official added. 

No serious injuries were reported, and 246 passengers were safely moved to a nearby port on rescue ships, the Ministry of Safety said in a statement. 

According to the authorities, 21 crew members remained on the vessel, which was later brought to Mokpo's port around 5:44 am.

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Among the passengers, 27 people were taken to a hospital due to light injuries, including headaches and back pain. 

Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Yong-jin had earlier told reporters that a preliminary assessment suggested "errors" by the crew may have caused the accident.

A photo released by Yonhap news agency showed the bow of the ferry pressed up against the island's tree-covered shore.

Another image showed passengers waiting to be rescued, many of them wearing what appear to be life vests. 

President Lee Jae Myung had ordered "swift rescue efforts" and instructed authorities to provide real-time updates to the public, his office said.

In 2014, a ferry carrying more than 470 passengers -- mostly pupils on a school trip -- capsized off the southwestern coast, killing 304 people in South Korea's worst maritime disaster. 

The salvaged wreck of the Sewol ferry was brought to Mokpo nearly three years later.

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