Angry and frustrated over both the search and rescue operation and the flow of information from South Korean authorities , dozens of relatives of missing ferry passengers intending to march in protest to Seoul were blocked by police from leaving Jindo . Early Sunday around 2 a.m , the family members left their temporary shelter at an indoor gym and demanded they be able to go to the Blue House -- the official residence of the South Korean President Park Geun-hye -- to present their complaints . The residence is located in the capital , Seoul -- some 275 miles north of Jindo . Jindo is the port city where the search , rescue and recovery operation has been based since the ferry , carrying 476 passengers , capsized and sank on Wednesday . Hundreds of passengers remain unaccounted for . A police cordon prevented the planned march from proceeding , witnesses said . A few scuffles broke out but no one was reported hurt . `` We are not getting any help , so we want to go to the Blue House , ' said Nam Sa Hyun , an older sister of a student who is missing from the ferry . `` We want to tell the president about our situation . '' Transcript of desperate calls released . `` For four days , there is no help . Right now , nobody is giving information on the missing . Our children are in the boat and there is no plan . '' Though the police were not aggressive to the protesting families , Nam questioned why there were so many officers at the site of anguished relatives . `` They 're not letting us get on the bus , the police are blocking us , '' she said . `` They 're not helping us , they 're just blocking us . '' Several families stayed in the street , attempting to break through police lines in their march . Some families lay down on the ground , sleeping outside in the cold to express their displeasure . In a video sent to CNN , angry parents yelled at officials who were trying to convince the families to go back to the gym , which serves as a temporary shelter for families . `` I ca n't believe them , '' a woman shouted at the official who was urging them to return . `` Let 's go on our way . Why do we sit here and listen to them ? '
Families sheltered at a gym attempt to take grievances to South Korean president . The families are demanding the government provide them with housing and other basic necessities as they struggle to survive in North Korea. Police blocked families from leaving .