MFA: No Thais were on ill-fated Korean ferry

BANGKOK, April 16 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has posted on its Twitter account, reporting that no Thais were on board a sunken Korean ferry off the South Korean coast. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that it has contacted the Thai Embassy in Seoul, South Korea's capital, to inquire about the ferry, which sank in the middle of the ocean off the southwestern coast of South Korea, asking whether there was any Thai on board. The Thai Embassy in Seoul has informed that there were no Thai nationals among those on board the ill-fated ship. A total of 476 people, mostly high school students on a school trip, were aboard the 6,325-ton vessel, which sank in the waters, 20 kilometers off the island of Byeongpoong, with one found dead, prompting a massive rescue operation involving coastguard and military vessels and helicopters. (TNA)