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1 dead, after ferry sinks off South Korean coast

  • South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship, trying to rescue passengers from the ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, including many high school students, is sinking off the country's southern coast Wednesday after sending a distress call, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
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    South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship, trying to rescue passengers from the ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, including many high school students, is sinking off the country's southern coast Wednesday after sending a distress call, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
  • South Korea rescue helicopter and fishing boats try to rescue passengers from a passenger ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, including many high school students, is sinking off the country's southern coast Wednesday after sending a distress call, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
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    South Korea rescue helicopter and fishing boats try to rescue passengers from a passenger ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, including many high school students, is sinking off the country's southern coast Wednesday after sending a distress call, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
  • A rescued passenger from a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, is carried by police and rescue teams on his arrival at Jindo port in Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Dozens of rescue boats and helicopters are scrambling to save more than 470 people, including many high school students, caught on a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities. (AP Photo/Park Chul-heung, Yonhap) KOREA OUT
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    A rescued passenger from a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, is carried by police and rescue teams on his arrival at Jindo port in Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Dozens of rescue boats and helicopters are scrambling to save more than 470 people, including many high school students, caught on a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities. (AP Photo/Park Chul-heung, Yonhap) KOREA OUT
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  • South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship, trying to rescue passengers from the ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A government office said the passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began tittering to one side. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
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    South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship, trying to rescue passengers from the ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A government office said the passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began tittering to one side. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
  • 10ThingstoSeeSports - North Korean spectators watch from the stands of Kim Il Sung Stadium as runners line up at the start of the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, April 13, 2014. The annual race, which includes a full marathon, a half marathon, and a 10-kilometer run, was open to foreign tourists for the first time this year. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
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    10ThingstoSeeSports - North Korean spectators watch from the stands of Kim Il Sung Stadium as runners line up at the start of the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, April 13, 2014. The annual race, which includes a full marathon, a half marathon, and a 10-kilometer run, was open to foreign tourists for the first time this year. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
  • South Korea coast guard police officers work to rescue passengers from a South Korean passenger ship, at Mokpo Coast Guard in Mokpo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A government office said the passenger ship carrying about 470 people has sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began leaning to one side. (AP Photo/Cho Keun-young, Yonhap) KOREA OUT
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    South Korea coast guard police officers work to rescue passengers from a South Korean passenger ship, at Mokpo Coast Guard in Mokpo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A government office said the passenger ship carrying about 470 people has sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began leaning to one side. (AP Photo/Cho Keun-young, Yonhap) KOREA OUT
  • Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

    Yahoo News is better in the app

    Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • People watch a TV news program showing a sinking passenger ship, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, including many high school students, is sinking off the country's southern coast Wednesday after sending a distress call, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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    People watch a TV news program showing a sinking passenger ship, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, including many high school students, is sinking off the country's southern coast Wednesday after sending a distress call, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
  • South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship, trying to rescue passengers from the ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A government office said the passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began tittering to one side. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
    8/9

    South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship, trying to rescue passengers from the ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A government office said the passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began tittering to one side. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
  • This undated photo shows South Korean passenger ship Sewol. A government office said Wednesday, April 16, 2014 the South Korean passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began tittering to one side. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
    9/9

    This undated photo shows South Korean passenger ship Sewol. A government office said Wednesday, April 16, 2014 the South Korean passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began tittering to one side. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship, trying to rescue passengers from the ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, including many high school students, is sinking off the country's southern coast Wednesday after sending a distress call, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
South Korea rescue helicopter and fishing boats try to rescue passengers from a passenger ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, including many high school students, is sinking off the country's southern coast Wednesday after sending a distress call, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
A rescued passenger from a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, is carried by police and rescue teams on his arrival at Jindo port in Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Dozens of rescue boats and helicopters are scrambling to save more than 470 people, including many high school students, caught on a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities. (AP Photo/Park Chul-heung, Yonhap) KOREA OUT
South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship, trying to rescue passengers from the ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A government office said the passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began tittering to one side. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
10ThingstoSeeSports - North Korean spectators watch from the stands of Kim Il Sung Stadium as runners line up at the start of the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, April 13, 2014. The annual race, which includes a full marathon, a half marathon, and a 10-kilometer run, was open to foreign tourists for the first time this year. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
South Korea coast guard police officers work to rescue passengers from a South Korean passenger ship, at Mokpo Coast Guard in Mokpo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A government office said the passenger ship carrying about 470 people has sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began leaning to one side. (AP Photo/Cho Keun-young, Yonhap) KOREA OUT
People watch a TV news program showing a sinking passenger ship, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people, including many high school students, is sinking off the country's southern coast Wednesday after sending a distress call, officials said. There are no immediate reports of causalities.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship, trying to rescue passengers from the ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A government office said the passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began tittering to one side. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
This undated photo shows South Korean passenger ship Sewol. A government office said Wednesday, April 16, 2014 the South Korean passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the southern coast after it began tittering to one side. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT
HYUNG-JIN KIM

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Dozens of military boats and helicopters scrambled Wednesday to rescue more than 470 people, including 325 high school students on a school trip, after a ferry sank off South Korea's southern coast, officials said. At least one person died and 14 were said to have been injured.

The ferry with 476 people was sailing to the southern island of Jeju when it sent a distress call Wednesday morning after it began leaning to one side, according to Ministry of Security and Public Administration. The government said about 95 percent of the ship was submerged.

Two coast guard officers said that a 27-year-old woman named Park Ji-yeong died. One of the officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing department rules, said 168 passengers had been rescued so far, but gave no further details, including what caused the ship to sink or the conditions of the other passengers.

A student, Lim Hyung-min, told broadcaster YTN from a gym on a nearby island that he jumped into the ocean wearing a life jacket with other students and then swam to a nearby rescue boat.

"As the ship was shaking and tilting, we all tripped and bumped into each another," Lim said, adding that some people were bleeding. Once he jumped, the ocean "was so cold. ... I was hurrying, thinking that I wanted to live."

Local media ran photos showing the partially submerged ship tilting dramatically as helicopters flew overhead and rescue vessels and a small boat covered with an orange tarp over it floated nearby.

The students are from a high school in Ansan city near Seoul and were on their way to Jeju island for a four-day trip, according to a relief team set up by Gyeonggi Province, which governs the city. The ship left Incheon port, just west of Seoul, on Tuesday evening, according to the state-run Busan Regional Maritime Affairs & Port Administration.

At the high school, students were sent home and parents gathered for news about the ferry.

Park Ji-hee, a first-year student, said she saw about a dozen parents crying at the school entrance and many cars and taxies gathered at the gate as she left in the morning.

She said some students in her classroom began to cry as they saw the news on their handsets. Teachers tried to soothe them, saying that the students on the ship would be fine.

A total of 16 helicopters, 34 rescue vessels and Navy divers were sent to the area, Lee Gyeong-og, a vice minister for South Korea's Public Administration and Security Ministry, told a televised news conference. He said President Park Geun-hye ordered a thorough rescue operation to prevent deaths. He said 14 had been injured so far, including one described as serious, and taken to hospitals.

Lee said that Navy special forces and an underwater demolition team would help rescue passengers who'd jumped into the water as the ship sank.

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AP writer Youkyung Kim contributed to this report.