Sewol Ferry 2; Behind What's Wrong

28 July

Survivors of South Korea's Sewol ferry disaster have begun testifying against the captain and crew. The passenger ferry capsized on 16 April, killing 304 of the 476 people on board. More than 300 passengers were Danwon High School pupils on an organised trip, but only 75 students survived. The captain, Lee Joon-Seok, and three senior crew members are accused of "homicide through wilful negligence", a charge that can carry the death penalty, reports The Guardian. Eleven other crew are being tried on lesser violations of maritime law. 

The disaster also led to South Korea's biggest manhunt, in which authorities searched for Yoo Byung-un, the owner of the ferry company. His body, which was badly decomposed, was identified a few days ago after it was discovered by a farmer in an orchard last month. Investigators say the ferry was overloaded, having been illegally modified to carry more passengers and cargo. Six students, whose names were withheld to protect their privacy, have been giving evidence. Here is what the court has heard so far:

Passengers repeatedly told to stay put

One teenager said crew members had repeatedly told passengers – "specifically the students of Danwon High School" – to stay in their cabins. Prosecutors claim it was these instructions that partly led to more deaths. Despite the ferry listing heavily, with passengers thrown to one side, an internal tannoy told passengers to put on their life vests and stay put. One student said that she and her classmates obeyed the order until the ferry had listed so far that the door to their cabin was above their heads. Her classmates clambered up fixed furniture and then pulled others up as the water rose inside the cabin, she said.

No help from crew

One witness said that at no time did any crew help her or those with whom she escaped. The bulk of the charges against the crew arise from the fact that they chose to abandon ship while hundreds of people were still trapped inside. The members of crew who stayed to help passengers were among those who died. The crew members on trial, including the captain, have said they thought it was the coastguard's job to evacuate passengers. Students say even the coastguard officers failed to come aboard to try and rescue them but simply waited outside the ferry to fish passengers out of the water.

Classmates swept away

One student described watching a wave sweep her classmates back inside the sinking boat. She said that she and a group of students managed to move along a horizontal stairwell towards an escape hatch. But as she jumped out, water swept over their escape route. "There were many classmates in the corridor and most of them were swept back into the ship," she said.