BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- A wave believed to be as high as 16 feet (around 5 meters) killed at least nine people and injured 14 others when it crashed over a breakwater and hurled them into the Yellow Sea off the west coast of South Korea, the coast guard said.

    The wave surged over the breakwater at Daecheon Beach some 120 miles (around 190 km) southwest of Seoul where dozens of people had been fishing and sightseeing Sunday, said Lee Won-il, a Korea Coast Guard officer. The dead included two children aged 9 and 5, and two of the injured — including another 9-year-old — were in critical condition, Lee said.

    "All of a sudden, there was a sound of thunder and lightning and then people screaming," Ko Myung-rae, the owner of a restaurant in the area, was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. "Children were crying, saying 'Our mother died.' As I looked at the sea, I saw people floating there."

    Thirty-six coast guard, navy and private fishing boats and 25 scuba divers participated in the search, while about 200 coast guard and fire department personnel and government officials were helping on shore, Lee said.

    South Korea's weather agency had forecast strong winds and high waves in the area but did not issue an advisory, Lee said.

    The wave was believed to have been caused by regular tidal movements in the Yellow Sea, he said, adding that it had been cloudy and drizzly when the incident happened.

    (Agencies)