Helicopters fly above a sinkingSouth Korean passenger ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, April 16, 2014. A passenger ship with 477 people aboard, mostly high school students, sank in waters off South Korea's south coast Wednesday morning, with two people dead and 14 others wounded, local media reported. (Xinhua/Newsis)

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong conveyed his condolences on Thursday to South Korean President Park Geun-hye over the sinking of the passenger ferry Sewol.

In a letter to President Park, Lee said that he was very saddened to learn of the incident.

"It is especially heart wrenching that many on the ferry are young students, whose excursion to a resort ended so tragically," he wrote in the letter.

Lee expressed the deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims.

"Our thoughts are with you and your people in this time of sorrow," Lee said in the letter.

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FLASH: 13 DEAD, 283 STILL MISSING IN S. KOREA SHIPWRECK: YTN

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SEOUL, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean passenger ferry, which sank in waters off the country's southwestern coast on Wednesday, was strongly believed to have been caused by a sudden turn in direction.Full story

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PARIS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- France expressed to South Korean authorities and people its condolences over the ferry disaster, a statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday.

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JINDO, South Korea, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The mother of a high school student could not hold back her tears of relief when she found her son's name on the survivors list, while parents of those who remained missing started wailing and soothed each other in tearful hugs.

Authorities have gathered relatives of passengers on a sunken ferry carrying some 470 passengers and crew -- mostly high school students bound for the southern resort island of Jeju, at a gym on nearby Jindo island.Full story