SEOUL (REUTERS) - The South Korean coast guard said on Wednesday more than 300 people were unaccounted for from a ferry sinking off the south-west coast, a dramatic increase in the number of missing that had been announced earlier.

The passenger ferry was carrying 477 people, of whom 164 were confirmed rescued, coast guard officials said. Two people were confirmed dead after the ferry listed heavily onto its side and capsized in apparently calm conditions.

South Korea's Ministry of Security and Public Administration had reported that 368 people had been rescued and about 100 were still missing, but later said those numbers had been miscalculated.