As a South Korean ferry began sinking with 475 people believed to be aboard — 325 of them students from Danwon High School — passengers reached for their cellphones and began sending messages to their loved ones. The following are transcripts of those exchanges.

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Shin Seong-hee heeded the advice of the ship’s communications officer, who told passengers to stay inside rather than evacuate. Her sister showed a reporter these text messages to her father.

Seong-hee: “Dad, don’t worry. I am wearing a life vest and my friends and I are all holding on together. I am inside the ship. Still in the corridor.”

Father: “I know the rescuers are coming, but why don’t you try to come outside?”

Seong-hee: “Dad, I can’t walk now because all the kids are in the corridor. And because the ship is tilting too much.”