Sewol Ferry 3; deaths

22 April

THE death toll from last week’s sinking of the South Korean ferry Sewol has passed 100 as hope runs out for those still missing. Divers will keep searching for bodies for a further two days, after which salvage experts will raise the ship.

According to the BBC, there were 476 people on the ship, of whom 339 were children and teachers taking a pre-exam school trip to Jeju island. A total of 174 passengers and crew are known to be safe, while 104 bodies have been recovered.

The families of the remaining 198 have accepted that the chances of finding anyone alive five days after the accident are “practically nil”, says The Guardian. They have agreed to allow officials to abandon the labour-intensive and dangerous search for survivors by divers in favour of raising the ship using salvage equipment.

Woo Dong-suk, an uncle of one of the missing schoolchildren told the paper: “It’s been too long already. The bodies must be decayed. The parents’ only wish right now is to find them before they are badly decomposed.”

Divers will prioritise getting into the ship’s restaurant, where they believe many of the passengers were trapped, in the last days of searching. Meanwhile, an underwater robot has been taken to the scene. It will be used to help raise the ship.

The Sewol began to list at 8.58am local time on 16 April and, within two and a half hours, had completely capsized. It is still not known what caused the disaster: there were reports that witnesses heard an impact at the time but these have not been repeated or confirmed.

The Guardian says South Korean investigators are examining evidence that an inexperienced third mate executed a dangerously sharp turn just before the ferry started listing. The captain, Lee Joon-seok, was not on the bridge at the time.

Lee, 69, and six other crew members, have been detained by the authorities. The captain has been charged with negligence and failing to secure the safety of the passengers, says Sky News.

South Korean president Park Geun-hye has publicly accused Lee of “murderous acts”, in what some observers saw as an attempt to deflect attention from an inadequate response to the disaster by the authorities.

South Korea ferry captain: ‘I bow my head in apology’

19 April 

The captain of the South Korean ferry that sank this week with 475 passengers on board says he delayed issuing evacuation orders because he feared passengers would "drift away".

Lee Joon-seok, described as an industry veteran by the ship's owners and an "expert" by others, was arrested with two crew members yesterday. He has faced growing criticism for not giving orders to evacuate quickly enough.

He told television reporters: "The current was very strong, the temperature of the ocean water was cold, and I thought that if people left the ferry without proper judgement, if they were not wearing a life jacket, and even if they were, they would drift away and face many other difficulties.”

He added: "I am sorry to the people of South Korea for causing a disturbance and I bow my head in apology to the families of the victims.”

As rescue operations continue for a fourth day, the number of missing stands at 273 with 29 confirmed dead. Some 174 passengers have been rescued.

Investigators are now concentrating on the sharp turn the ship took prior to its listing and probing whether an evacuation order could have saved more lives.

The 69-year-old captain faces charges including negligence of duty and violation of maritime law. The two crew members were arrested for failing in their duty to assist passengers.