Errors Mounted as Chaos Ruled Capsizing Ferry
New York Times
Of all the images from the loss of a ferry in the cold waters off the southwest coast of South Korea last week, perhaps none has angered South Koreans more than that of the captain, an orange life vest strapped to his torso, awkwardly stepping off his half-submerged vessel to the safety of a rescue boat, even as hundreds of his passengers remained trapped inside.
The captain, Lee Jun-seok, 69, has yet to explain publicly why he abandoned the ship with people aboard — an apparent violation of maritime protocol, if not the law — as it sunk beneath the waves.
Transcript of South Korea Ship Sinking: ‘We Can’t Move’
ABC News
The following is a portion of the transcript released Sunday by the South Korean coast guard of the conversation between the ferry that sank Wednesday and the Jindo Vessel Traffic Services Center (VTS) on Jindo island. The ferry Sewol issued its distress call to another VTS center before these communications began. The Associated Press translated the transcript from Korean. The names of other ships included in the transcript are omitted at the request of South Korean authorities.
9:07 a.m.
SEWOL: Jindo VTS, this is Sewol ferry.
JINDO VTS: Sewol ferry, Sewol ferry, this is VTS. Is your ship sinking now?
Relatives on shore lose hope of survivors
Korea JoongAng Daily
After making their first entry into the capsized Sewol Friday afternoon, search and rescue teams brought up 16 bodies from the doomed vessel, raising the total death toll to 58 as of 7 p.m. yesterday.
Of the 58 dead, at least 22 are Danwon High School 11th graders, who were on a four-day trip to Jeju Island when the ferry carrying 476 people capsized Wednesday morning.
Search and rescue teams found no survivors trapped inside the upside-down vessel in waters off the southwestern coast, raising fears that casualties will soon surge.
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South Korean ferry victims’ families ask, ‘How are we going to live now?’
CNN
The grief of any parent who loses a child is unimaginable. But that pain is amplified now in South Korea, due to the uncertainty over the fate of hundreds — many of them children on a school field trip — on a sunken ferry and how this east Asian nation’s culture copes with such heartache.
For proof, one need look no further than hospital beds where some parents are hooked up to IVs because their sorrow is so great that they have refused to eat.
Some say they don’t want to live.
Families under tremendous emotional stress
Korea Herald
Family members of missing passengers on the Sewol ferry expressed anger and outrage due to psychological trauma, according to a therapist who volunteered to help families on Jindo Island.
The emotional stress has been escalating in the gymnasium on Jindo Island where families gathered to hear news about their loved ones. Furious about the little progress made in the search effort, some threw water bottles and shouted at officials during briefings.
According to therapist Jeong Gyeong-sook, the families are at the most sensitive emotional stage.
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4 More Detained in Ferry Sinking
KKTV 11 News
Four more crew members are being detained in the sinking of a South Korean ferry, and prosecutors have 48 hours to decide whether to pursue arrest warrants against them.
Already, the captain and two other crew members have been arrested on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need, in last Wednesday’s sinking that’s left more than 300 people either dead or missing.
As divers continue to search the interior of the submerged vessel, the confirmed death toll is up to 84.
South Korean President Calls Ferry Crew ‘Murderous’
Time
South Korea wants answers. Five days after a ferry sank off the country’s southern coast, the nation is waiting for information about the fate of those on board, and the cause of the disaster. A transcript of the ship’s communication with the shore, released Sunday, provides a partial glimpse into what transpired after the Sewol took a sharp turn, listed, then sank last Wednesday morning. Though much is still unclear, the exchange suggests a chaotic scene as crew members weighed whether or not to evacuate the ship.
The 6,825-ton ferry set off April 15 from the port city of Incheon, near Seoul, making its twice-weekly overnight journey to the resort island of Jeju. The Japan-made vessel was carrying 476 people, including 350 high school students on a class trip. Just before 8:55 a.m. on April 16, the ship sent a distress signal. “Our ship is in danger,” a crew membersaid. Two hours later, it was nearly submerged. One hundred and seventy four people survived. As of Monday evening, local time, 64 are confirmed dead and 240 remain missing.
Was Park Right to Condemn Ferry Crew?
Wall Street Journal
On Monday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye declared that the actions of the captain and crew of the fated ferry Sewol were “tantamount to murder.”
The statement appeared to tap into national outrage over TV footage showing the captain, Lee Jun-seok, being among the first to escape the ship as it capsized.
Mr. Lee and the two other members in charge of the ship at the time it went down have been arrested on charges of abandoning the ship in violation of the seafarers’ law, which stipulates they must help passengers leave a wrecked ship safely.
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