The search has resumed for around 290 people who remain missing after a South Korean ferry capsized and sank.

Nine people have already been confirmed dead and the death toll is expected to increase sharply in what could be the country's worst maritime accident in two decades.

The dead include a female teacher, a female member of the crew and three male school students.

The majority of those who remain unaccounted for are from the same school on a field trip. So far 179 people have been rescued.

Yonhap News reporter, Irishman John Power, gave Newstalk Breakfast the latest:

Video footage has emerged apparently showing passengers in life jackets as the boat began to sink.

Passenger Koo Bon-hee (36) told reporters many people were trapped inside by windows that were too hard to break.

Grieving families

Grieving family members have gathered on the quay of Jindo Island, huddled in blankets against the cold as they wait for any news.

"If I could teach myself to dive, I would jump in the water and try to find my daughter," Park Yung-suk told the Reuters news agency.

It's emerged that parents of the missing students have begun hiring rescue boats to join the search overnight.

One man told reporters that he and 10 other parents paid 61,000 won, or about €42 each to hire a boat to take them to the scene, along with a local reporter and a diver.

One of Lim Young-gil's family members is missing:

As coastguard officials arrived for the second day of searching relatives jeered at them, shouting: "The weather's nice, why aren't you starting the rescue."

South Korea's President Park Geun-hye says it's a disaster:

Strong currents and bad visibility are hampering the search. Twenty divers tried to get inside the wreckage but could not because of the current.

Mystery sinking

The ship set sail from the port of Incheon on Tuesday carrying 475 passengers, nearly 340 of them teenagers and teachers from the Danwon school near the capital Seoul.

Its destination was Jeju island around 100km south of the Korean peninsula.

It is not clear why the 6,586 tonne vessel, which was built in Japan 20 years ago, sank in apparently calm waters.

However, some survivors spoke of hearing a loud noise before disaster struck.

The captain and crew are being interviewed by authorities.

The registered owner of the ship, Chonghaejin Marine Co Ltd, has offered an apology but declined to comment further.