Four sailors remain trapped in an overturned cargo ship off the coast of Georgia Monday.

The South Korean crew members took refuge in an engine room as rescuers frantically tried to reach them without putting them in more danger, given the precarious equilibrium of the ship, authorities said.

Rescuers were using a hole they drilled into the hull of the massive carrier to provide the sailors with fresh air, and drinking water also are being sent to them through it, a Coast Guard official told ABC-TV.

“The early indication is they are … OK,’’ said US Coast Guard Lt. Lloyd Heflin.

A language barrier at first complicated efforts to confirm they were safe, the official said.

The workers became trapped when the massive South Korean ship, loaded with thousands of new cars, overturned around 2 a.m. Sunday in the busy shipping lane off the small city of Brunswick, authorities said.

A 911 caller alerted the Coast Guard to the disabled ship, the Golden Ray, which also had caught fire, and the agency immediately launched a rescue operation, officials said.

Helicopters were sent to the scene and were able to get out 20 of the crew: the American pilot, 13 Philippines nationals and six South Koreans, authorities said.

But smoke from the fire and the fear of increasing instability of the ship thwarted the rescue of the final four sailors, all of whom are South Korean, according to their country’s foreign ministry.

Rescuers were given hope that the stuck crew members were still alive Sunday night when they heard noises coming from the craft.

Once the carrier was deemed stable enough again, a team of workers was dropped by helicopter to its hull and rappelled down its side to drill the hole — through which they were able to communicate with the trapped sailors Monday, authorities said.

The South Korean foreign ministry said the crew members “apparently tapped back three times” when rescuers banged on the ship’s hull in a bid to make contact.

Communications between both sides were continuing, officials said.

The 656-foot ship was carrying around 4,000 cars from Hyundai and Kia — both South Korean car manufacturers — at the time. It was headed to the port of Baltimore when it began listing.

With Post wires