<p>Heart-wrenching messages of fear, love and despair, sent by high school students from a sinking South Korean ferry added extra emotional weight today to a tragedy that has stunned the entire nation.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Nearly 300 people -- most of them students on a high school trip to a holiday island -- are still missing after the ferry capsized and sank on last morning.<br /><br />"Sending this in case I may not be able to say this again. Mom, I love you," one student Shin Young-Jin said in a text to his mother that was widely circulated in the South Korean media.<br /><br />"Oh, I love you too son," texted back his mother who was unaware at the time that her son was caught in a life and death struggle to escape the rapidly sinking vessel.<br />Unlike many others, the exchange had a happy ending as Shin was one of only 179 survivors rescued before the ferry capsized and went under the water. Others were not so fortunate.<br /><br />Another student, 16-year-old Kim Woong-Ki sent a desperate text for help to his elder brother as the ship listed violently over to one side.<br /><br />"My room is tilting about 45 degrees. My mobile is not working very well," Kim messaged.<br />Seeking to reassure him, his brother said he was sure help was on the way.<br /><br />"So don't panic and just do whatever you're told to do. Then you'll be fine," he messaged back.<br /><br />There was no further communication and Kim was listed among the 287 people on board still unaccounted for.<br /><br />Sadly his brother's advice was similar to that of the crew who controversially ordered passengers to stay put when the ship first foundered.<br /><br />Angry relatives said this resulted in the passengers getting trapped when the ferry keeled over, cutting off routes of escape.<br /><br />That grim scenario was encapsulated in the texts of an 18-year-old student, identified in the local media by her surname Shin.<br /><br />"Dad, don't worry. I'm wearing a life vest and am with other girls. We're inside the ship, still in the hallway," the girl messaged to her father.</p>
<p>Heart-wrenching messages of fear, love and despair, sent by high school students from a sinking South Korean ferry added extra emotional weight today to a tragedy that has stunned the entire nation.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Nearly 300 people -- most of them students on a high school trip to a holiday island -- are still missing after the ferry capsized and sank on last morning.<br /><br />"Sending this in case I may not be able to say this again. Mom, I love you," one student Shin Young-Jin said in a text to his mother that was widely circulated in the South Korean media.<br /><br />"Oh, I love you too son," texted back his mother who was unaware at the time that her son was caught in a life and death struggle to escape the rapidly sinking vessel.<br />Unlike many others, the exchange had a happy ending as Shin was one of only 179 survivors rescued before the ferry capsized and went under the water. Others were not so fortunate.<br /><br />Another student, 16-year-old Kim Woong-Ki sent a desperate text for help to his elder brother as the ship listed violently over to one side.<br /><br />"My room is tilting about 45 degrees. My mobile is not working very well," Kim messaged.<br />Seeking to reassure him, his brother said he was sure help was on the way.<br /><br />"So don't panic and just do whatever you're told to do. Then you'll be fine," he messaged back.<br /><br />There was no further communication and Kim was listed among the 287 people on board still unaccounted for.<br /><br />Sadly his brother's advice was similar to that of the crew who controversially ordered passengers to stay put when the ship first foundered.<br /><br />Angry relatives said this resulted in the passengers getting trapped when the ferry keeled over, cutting off routes of escape.<br /><br />That grim scenario was encapsulated in the texts of an 18-year-old student, identified in the local media by her surname Shin.<br /><br />"Dad, don't worry. I'm wearing a life vest and am with other girls. We're inside the ship, still in the hallway," the girl messaged to her father.</p>