Sewol Ferry 4; Everything What we should Knew

17 March

NINE people have been confirmed dead and 300 are still missing as the search operation continues in the wake of the South Korean ferry disaster, which looks likely to be one of the worst maritime disasters for decades.

Officials say that the number of casualties could rise "drastically" over the next few days, with hundreds of people believed to be trapped inside the sunken vessel.

Emergency services said last night that they had managed to save just 164 of the 470 people on board.

Survivors who were taken to the nearby island of Jindo said that crew members gave conflicting instructions as the Sewol ferry began to list violently and then sink, The Times reports.

"It was fine, then the ship went 'boom', and there was a noise of cargo falling," one passenger, Cha Eun-ok, told reporters. "The on-board announcement told people to stay put [but] people who stayed are trapped," she said.

Urgent rescue efforts are ongoing with 40 coastguard and military vessels and a team of specialist navy divers operating in the choppy waters about 20 km (12 miles) off the country's southwestern coast. But the operation has been hampered by poor weather.

Meanwhile, frustration has grown among families of the victims, as police refused to let a group of 30 civilian divers take part in the search for any survivors who may still be trapped in the sunken ferry.

The cause of the disaster was not immediately clear. The state broadcaster YTN reported that strong winds had caused cargo on top of the ship to move. The ship then began to list as passengers were instructed to put on their life jackets.



The search effort continues but many rescuers do not hold out much hope of finding any more survivors.

"Considering the water temperature, depth and the time elapsed, anyone trapped inside is unlikely to have survived," a rescue worker told local media.

Hundreds missing as South Korean ferry capsizes
16 April

TWO people are dead and almost 300 are missing after a ferry carrying 476 people capsized off the coast of South Korea.

The ferry sank between the port of Incheon, in the north-west of the country, and the southern resort island of Jeju. Among the passengers were 300 school students.

A major rescue operation is underway including dozens of coastguard and navy vessels and 18 helicopters. It was reported that 368 people had been rescued, but the BBC explains that after "a counting error" the number was halved to 180, leaving almost 300 people unaccounted for.

The two people have been confirmed dead are said to be a female crew member in her twenties, and a man who died in hospital.
The Sewol, a car and passenger ferry, sounded its distress signal shortly before 9am local time after it collided with rocks and began listing dangerously.  Ferries had been cancelled overnight due to heavy fog, but locals reported that visibility had been fair by the time the Sewol set sail.

Passengers said that the ship had struck rocks 12 miles from the island of Byungpoong.

"We heard a big thumping sound and the boat stopped," one passenger told South Korean TV network YTN. "The boat is tilting and we have to hold on to something to stay seated."
One rescued student, Lim Hyung Min, told YTN that he heard a loud thump, and then the ferry began to sink. Everyone was ordered to put on their life jackets and jump overboard, he said. "I had to swim a bit to get to the boat to be rescued... The water was so cold and I wanted to live."

YTN reported that all the students have now been rescued, but the South Korean coast guard has yet to confirm those accounts.
Images shown on South Korean television showed the ship at a 45 degree angle. Later, the ship appeared to have overturned and was almost completely submerged.



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