REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JINDO - Rescuers fought rising wind, strong waves and murky water on Thursday as they searched for hundreds of people, most of them teenaged schoolchildren, missing after a South Korean ferry capsized more than 24 hours ago.

Coastguard, navy and some private divers were operating in waters at the site of the accident, about 20 km (12 miles) off the country's southwestern coast. Earlier, rescue teams hammered on the hull of the upturned vessel, hoping for a response from anyone trapped inside, but did not hear anything, media said.

The vessel, carrying 475 passengers and crew, capsized on Wednesday during a journey from the port of Incheon to the holiday island of Jeju. Nine people were found dead and 179 were rescued, according to the South Korean government, leaving 287 unaccounted for and possibly still trapped in the vessel.

One parent, Park Yung-suk, told Reuters at the port of Jindo, where rescue efforts are centered, that she had seen the body of her teenage daughter's teacher brought ashore.

"If I could teach myself to dive, I would jump in the water and try to find my daughter," she said. Her daughter was one of 340 children and teachers from the Danwon High School in Ansan, a Seoul suburb, on board the vessel.

The captain of the ship, Lee Joon-seok (69 years) faces a criminal investigation, a coastguard official said, amid unconfirmed reports that he was one of the first to jump to safety from the stricken vessel.

Many survivors told media Lee was one of the first to be rescued although no one had actually seen him leave the ship. The coastguard and the ferry operator declined comment.

Although the water at the site of the accident is relatively shallow at less than 50 meters (165 feet) depth, it is still highly dangerous for the 150 or so divers who are working as fast as they can, experts said. Time was running out to find any survivors who may be trapped inside, they said.

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