Fox News has admitted that it mistakenly used the wrong footage of grieving people in its coverage of the South Korean ferry disaster, which killed more than 260 people last month.

The broadcaster said it regretted the mistake, in which images of devastated people mourning the deaths of 16 Sherpa guides killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest were used in a broadcast about the South Korean ferry disaster.

Footage of the mother of a Mount Everest avalanche victim was mistakenly used in Fox's broadcast on the South Korean ferry disaster.

Fox News had faced criticism from the Korean Cultural Centre, an auxiliary of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea, which claimed the broadcaster had used "footage of random sad Asians instead of going to Korea".

The Mount Everest disaster, the most deadly recorded climbing accident in Everest history, occurred on April 18, two days after the South Korean ferry capsized.