Ferry carrying 470 passengers sinking off South Korea

[Lite Beer]

Divers enter sunken Korean ferry
The Korea Herald,
The Nation April 19, 2014 1:00 am

South Korean Ambassador Jeon Jae-man, third from left, and Nation Multimedia Group executives take part in a ceremony yesterday to express solidarity with South Korea after the sinking of a ferry on Wednesday.

No survivors found; 268 still missing; school official kills self; Bangkokians pray for victims

Divers from South Korea's Navy and coast guard yesterday entered the interior of the capsized ferry for the first time since the 6,825-tonne vessel sank on Wednesday. However, they failed to find any survivors.

They had initially injected air into the ship and installed buoys to keep it from sinking further.

As of yesterday evening, 28 of the total 475 passengers were confirmed dead, while 268 remained unaccounted for. Among the passengers, 325 were students from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, who were on a trip to Jejudo Island.

The school's vice principal, surnamed Kang, who had been rescued from the ferry earlier, was found dead in an apparent suicide yesterday afternoon. Police said Kang hanged himself from a tree on a hill near a gymnasium in Jindo, South Jeolla Province, where a disaster information centre has been set up for the victims' families.

In the morning, four massive cranes arrived at the scene to back the ongoing rescue efforts. In addition, 108 naval ships, 61 civilian ships and 535 personnel including military and civilian divers joined the search.

The rescue authorities chose not to salvage the vessel until all victims have been pulled up from the ship, as any mistakes in the rescue effort could lead to the loss of air and bodies in the ship, given the strong tidal currents. The victims' families have also opposed the salvaging of the ship.

Announcing an interim result of its probe, an investigation team of prosecutors and police said the ferry's captain, surnamed Lee, had handed the ship's wheel to an inexperienced third mate before the vessel began sinking. Yesterday an arrest warrant was issued against Lee, who underwent questioning for a third consecutive day. Lee has been criticised for being the first to jump ship, while hundreds of passengers tried to save themselves.

"We need to investigate where the captain was when the ship sank, as accounts are still conflicting," Lee Sung-yun, who is leading the investigation team, said at a press conference.

As for the cause of the disaster, authorities said they were looking to see if the person behind the wheel had changed the direction normally or too sharply. Investigators suspect that the ship took a sharp turn when only a gradual change was required, which caused the ship to lose balance and ultimately capsize.



Prayers for South Korea

In Bangkok, Nation TV Channel 22, a sister organisation of The Nation newspaper, held a "Pray for South Korea" event yesterday to express its solidarity with South Korea.

The event, which featured live music and a large banner for people write their condolences on, was held on the open area next to Siam Discovery shopping mall. Nation TV has a new studio on the ground floor.

Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) chairman Suthichai Yoon said Thais and people of different nationalities gathered at the event yesterday to express their support for the victims and their families.

"We want to let South Korea know that friends from across the world are standing by them," Suthichai said.

Meanwhile, South Korean Ambassador to Thailand Jeon Jae Man thanked the well-wishers, saying: "Thank you all for writing the messages. I was moved by the event and your prayers will be delivered to the bereaved families in Korea. Your prayers will be very strong support for them to go ahead despite the tremendous tragedy. Thank you very much."

NMG editor-in-chief Thepchai Yong said everybody in Thailand was praying for a miracle.

"We are praying for [more] survivors," Suthichai added.

Siriti Kongpaen, 20, a first-year student majoring in Korean language at the Thai Chamber of Commerce University, said she had joined the event to offer her condolences and to give moral support to South Korea.

"Even though I can't do anything to help, at least I can pray that everybody is reunited with their loved ones," said Siriti, who began using #prayforkorea on Twitter on the first day of the tragedy.

She added that she found the photographs of the distraught parents deeply moving and had developed a deep dislike for the ship's captain, who apparently left the ship early to save himself. "I hate him," she declared.

Kamolchanok Boonsoros, a Business Administration freshman at Nation University, said the news was disturbing.

The student added that the vast coverage of the disaster had raised the Thai public's level of sympathy.

Yesterday's event attracted the attention of Korean media, with the Korean Broadcasting Corporation at hand to interview participants.

Nation TV has also sent a crew to South Korea to cover the disaster. The team will work with the English-language daily Korea Herald, which is part of the Asia News Network.

-- The Nation 2014-04-19

[Scott]

I have two co-workers who have been spending the last month in South Korea and touring around the country. I hope they are safe. I believe that Island was one of the places on their itinerary.

My thoughts are with the people of South Korea. A very tragic, and unnecessary accident.

[Mosha]

The School vice principal who was rescued from the ship has now been found hanged.

How sad.

Thats terrible news. wasn't his fault but felt it was. this just gets worse.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

The uncle of one of the children. "He must have felt really guilty, buy how can we compare him to the captain, who abandoned them?

[Mosha]

The captain has been arrested.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-27081279#FBM360452

[boomerangutang]

A change of direction too suddenly, and then sink. That's sounds like a badly designed ship. It sometimes happens, when passengers all go to one side of a ship to view something, that causes severe imbalance. Regardless, very sad event.

[Lite Beer]

Korea Ferry captain says evacuation delayed for safety

JINDO, South Korea - The arrested captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized with 476 people on board said Saturday he had delayed evacuating the ship because of the sea conditions and the absence of rescue ships.

Lee Joon-Seok and two of his crew were taken into police custody in the early hours of the morning, charged with negligence and failing to secure the safety of passengers in violation of maritime law.

During his police arraignment, during which he stood, head bowed, in a hooded raincoat, Lee was asked by TV reporters why passengers had been ordered to remain in their seats and cabins for more than 40 minutes after the ferry first sent a distress signal just before 9:00am Wednesday.

"At the time a rescue ship had not arrived. There were also no fishing boats around there for rescues or other ships to help," Lee said.

"The currents were very strong and water was cold at that time in the area.

"I thought that passengers would be swept far away and fall into trouble if they evacuated thoughtlessly without wearing lifejackets.

"It would have been the same even if they did wear lifejackets," he said.

Furious relatives of the hundreds of passengers still missing -- most of them schoolchildren -- believe many more would have escaped if they had moved to reach evacuation points before the ship listed sharply and water started flooding in.

Twenty-nine people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, but 273 are still missing.

-- The Nation 2014-04-19

[Scott]

Many years ago, I lived on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. On weekends, the ferry going to the island was often over crowded and on holidays it was especially bad. I remember on one holiday, as the ferry approached the pier, people began rushing toward the exit. The mass movement of people caused the ferry to upper end of the ferry to actually strike the building -- thank goodness, because it probably would have capsized had something not stopped it.

People refused to move away from the exit and so it took a very long time and a lot of effort on the part of the staff to get people to move away from the exit so that the ferry could properly dock.

I was mildly scared, but we were very close to shore and I am a strong swimmer. I can only imagine the fear these people must have been going through.

[khwaibah]

Lee Joon-Seok is "behind bars" after pictures showed him jumping to safety as hundreds of children remained trapped on the ship.

http://news.sky.com/

[Mosha]

Korea Ferry captain says evacuation delayed for safety

JINDO, South Korea - The arrested captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized with 476 people on board said Saturday he had delayed evacuating the ship because of the sea conditions and the absence of rescue ships.

Lee Joon-Seok and two of his crew were taken into police custody in the early hours of the morning, charged with negligence and failing to secure the safety of passengers in violation of maritime law.

During his police arraignment, during which he stood, head bowed, in a hooded raincoat, Lee was asked by TV reporters why passengers had been ordered to remain in their seats and cabins for more than 40 minutes after the ferry first sent a distress signal just before 9:00am Wednesday.

"At the time a rescue ship had not arrived. There were also no fishing boats around there for rescues or other ships to help," Lee said.

"The currents were very strong and water was cold at that time in the area.

"I thought that passengers would be swept far away and fall into trouble if they evacuated thoughtlessly without wearing lifejackets.

"It would have been the same even if they did wear lifejackets," he said.

Furious relatives of the hundreds of passengers still missing -- most of them schoolchildren -- believe many more would have escaped if they had moved to reach evacuation points before the ship listed sharply and water started flooding in.

Twenty-nine people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, but 273 are still missing.

-- The Nation 2014-04-19

That's what lifeboats are for.

[Tywais]

Korea Ferry captain says evacuation delayed for safety

JINDO, South Korea - The arrested captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized with 476 people on board said Saturday he had delayed evacuating the ship because of the sea conditions and the absence of rescue ships.

Lee Joon-Seok and two of his crew were taken into police custody in the early hours of the morning, charged with negligence and failing to secure the safety of passengers in violation of maritime law.

During his police arraignment, during which he stood, head bowed, in a hooded raincoat, Lee was asked by TV reporters why passengers had been ordered to remain in their seats and cabins for more than 40 minutes after the ferry first sent a distress signal just before 9:00am Wednesday.

"At the time a rescue ship had not arrived. There were also no fishing boats around there for rescues or other ships to help," Lee said.

"The currents were very strong and water was cold at that time in the area.

"I thought that passengers would be swept far away and fall into trouble if they evacuated thoughtlessly without wearing lifejackets.

"It would have been the same even if they did wear lifejackets," he said.

Furious relatives of the hundreds of passengers still missing -- most of them schoolchildren -- believe many more would have escaped if they had moved to reach evacuation points before the ship listed sharply and water started flooding in.

Twenty-nine people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, but 273 are still missing.

-- The Nation 2014-04-19

That's what lifeboats are for.

If there was a heavy list to the ferry it may not have been possible to launch the lifeboats safely or at all.

[Mosha]

Korea Ferry captain says evacuation delayed for safety

JINDO, South Korea - The arrested captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized with 476 people on board said Saturday he had delayed evacuating the ship because of the sea conditions and the absence of rescue ships.

Lee Joon-Seok and two of his crew were taken into police custody in the early hours of the morning, charged with negligence and failing to secure the safety of passengers in violation of maritime law.

During his police arraignment, during which he stood, head bowed, in a hooded raincoat, Lee was asked by TV reporters why passengers had been ordered to remain in their seats and cabins for more than 40 minutes after the ferry first sent a distress signal just before 9:00am Wednesday.

"At the time a rescue ship had not arrived. There were also no fishing boats around there for rescues or other ships to help," Lee said.

"The currents were very strong and water was cold at that time in the area.

"I thought that passengers would be swept far away and fall into trouble if they evacuated thoughtlessly without wearing lifejackets.

"It would have been the same even if they did wear lifejackets," he said.

Furious relatives of the hundreds of passengers still missing -- most of them schoolchildren -- believe many more would have escaped if they had moved to reach evacuation points before the ship listed sharply and water started flooding in.

Twenty-nine people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, but 273 are still missing.

-- The Nation 2014-04-19

That's what lifeboats are for.

If there was a heavy list to the ferry it may not have been possible to launch the lifeboats safely or at all.

Doesn't need a lot to get past the point of no return. A maritime expert said on BBC yesterday it was 5%..

[boomerangutang]

no mention of lifeboats, that I've seen, thus far in official news.

Captain could have announced something like: All those who are good swimmers, with life jackets, you can jump overboard.

And looked around for anything boyant (sp) to toss over alongside the ship: styrofoam, lifesavers, large wooden furniture, whatever.

To make everyone stay on board for 40 minutes after the ship was badly damaged and listing - is indeed criminal.

[EyesWideOpen]

My thoughts as a former ship captain...

1. Who ever made the announcement for the passengers to stay in their rooms

while the ship was sinking should be charged with murder

2. The captain bailing out first is a bit amazing. I thought that type of action was confined

solely to Greek and Italian captains.

3. Saying the ship was in fog is completely irrelevant. The ship has navigation systems

that accurately place it within a few meters, and navigation charts that show every feature

underwater. If they ran the ship onto a reef given modern navigation equipment, the

third mate was either asleep, drunk/stoned, or retarded.

[Mosha]

no mention of lifeboats, that I've seen, thus far in official news.

Captain could have announced something like: All those who are good swimmers, with life jackets, you can jump overboard.

And looked around for anything boyant (sp) to toss over alongside the ship: styrofoam, lifesavers, large wooden furniture, whatever.

To make everyone stay on board for 40 minutes after the ship was badly damaged and listing - is indeed criminal.

BBC reported yesterday 2 out of 46 were launched.

[Lite Beer]

First bodies pulled from submerged Korean ferry

JINDO , South Korea - Divers retrieved more than a dozen bodies Sunday from the submerged South Korean ferry that capsized four days ago with hundreds of children on board, opening a grim new chapter in the search and recovery process.

Three bodies -- the first to be retrieved from the ship’s interior -- were pulled out just before midnight and another 10 were recovered later Sunday morning, a coastguard spokesman said.

The breakthrough followed days of fruitless efforts by more than 500 divers to access the interior of the capsized ship, while battling powerful currents and near-zero visibility.

Their recovery looks set to dash the slim hopes of distraught relatives who had clung desperately to the idea that some passengers may have survived in air pockets in the upturned vessel.

The confirmed death toll from the disaster now stands at 46 with 256 people still unaccounted for.

Of the 476 people on board when the 6,825-tonne Sewol capsized and sank on Wednesday morning, more than 350 were high school students headed for the holiday island of Jeju.

Few details were provided of the 13 bodies recovered, but relatives of the missing gathered on Jindo island -- close to the disaster site -- have begun providing DNA samples to facilitate identification.

-- The Nation 2014-04-20

[3NUMBAS]

a ship without lifeboats and safety equipment ! didnt they learn anything from all the sinkings since the titanic .

[Tywais]

a ship without lifeboats and safety equipment ! didnt they learn anything from all the sinkings since the titanic .

It had both life boats and vests, just not implemented as they should have. Even the titanic had them.

[EyesWideOpen]

a ship without lifeboats and safety equipment ! didnt they learn anything from all the sinkings since the titanic .

It had both life boats and vests, just not implemented as they should have. Even the titanic had them.

The Titantic had lifeboats for about one half the passengers on board. I will assume this ship

would have had lifeboats for every passenger....

[webfact]

Ferry was overloaded; crew may have broken safety guidelines
The Korea Herald
Asia News Network


Anxious family members of missing passengers in the sunken Sewol ferry are blocked by policemen as they try to march towards the Presidential house during a rally against the government

SEOUL: -- The ill-fated Korean ferry Sewol was overloaded and its crew appears to have broken several other safety guidelines, possibly resulting in its sinking last Wednesday, sources have said.

Divers made multiple trips to the ferry to recover bodies yesterday, in what is one of the nation's worst disasters in recent memory.

Starting late Saturday, rescue workers recovered 29 bodies from inside the ferry and nearby waters off the coast of Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province.

As of 6pm yesterday, the death toll stood at 58, while 244 remained missing.

The 20-year-old vessel was reportedly renovated in 2012, after it was purchased from a Japanese ferry company.

Two cabins were added to the back, possibly making it top-heavy, experts claimed.

Though it was not illegal to extend a ship vertically, it could exert greater weight and pressure on the vessel, experts said.

In the Sewol's case, its capacity was increased 14 percent and is believed to have become 239 tonnes heavier.

"Because the ship was heavier, there is the chance that the crew loaded less ballast water, which is needed to balance the ship," said a Korean Register of Shipping official.

"This may have made the ship unable to recover from the initial tilting."

Park Soo-han, chief executive of shipping parts compnay KCC Corporation, said: "If the top becomes heavier, you need to add more weight to the bottom to make it steady but I don't think that was the case with the Sewol."

Others have suggested that the Sewol load of vehicles and cargo was heavier than what was reported, which could have been a major factor in it sinking.

According to the radio correspondent log, the Sewol reported 450 passengers, 150 vehicles and 657 tonnes of cargo to the Korea Shipping Association.

After the accident, the company revealed the actual numbers were 477 passengers, 124 passenger cars, 22 one-tonne trucks, 34 cargo trucks of more than 2.5-tonne capacity, and 1,157 tonnes of cargo.

The Sewol had a legal capacity of 921 passengers, 180 vehicles and 154 regular cargo containers.

However, heavy trailer drivers carrying more than 30 tonnes of materials each could make freight even heavier.

"Heavy vehicles and their loads weren't examined before they were loaded on the Sewol," a truck driver told reporters.

"Because the Sewol is lax when it comes to overloading, many cargo owners prefer taking the Sewol than to drive all the way to Mokpo in South Jeolla Province and take a ship there."

Sources said that if the heavy cargo were not properly tied down it could have caused the ship to tip over after it titled.

Some people allegedly heard containers fall and roll over.

"If this is true, then the cargo might have upset the weight distribution. It could have accelerated the tipping over process," said Professor Lee Sang-yoon of Pukyung National University.


-- The Nation 2014-04-21

[Mosha]

BBC says the official transcripts.are out

[webfact]

South Korea ferry: Transcript reveals evacuation panic

SEOUL: -- The last communications between the South Korean ferry that sank on Wednesday and traffic services reveal panic and indecision by the crew.

In the newly released transcript, a crew member repeatedly asks if there were vessels on hand to rescue passengers if evacuation was ordered.

The captain has said he delayed the move for fear people would drift away.

After three days, divers have now entered the ferry and retrieved 32 bodies, bringing the death toll to 64.

However, another 238 people are still missing. Some 174 passengers were rescued.

The Sewol capsized during a journey from Incheon in the north-west to the southern island of Jeju. There were 476 people on board - including 339 children and teachers on a school trip.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27096629


-- BBC 2014-04-21

[daveAustin]

a ship without lifeboats and safety equipment ! didnt they learn anything from all the sinkings since the titanic .

It had both life boats and vests, just not implemented as they should have. Even the titanic had them.

The Titantic had lifeboats for about one half the passengers on board....

Indeed, though no rules were broken at the time and reason most were half empty is that people didn't want to leave the ship/their husbands. Most were on deck and passengers made aware of the danger. It seems it was not the case in this instance.

[Mosha]

You have to wonder what evacuation training the crew received.

[trainman34014]

Looks like the usual Asian problem....Money first, Human life matters not.

[webfact]

SOUTH KOREA'S FERRY MISHAP
Ferry transcript reveals evacuation panic
Agence France Presse


Photo : EPA

SEOUL: -- Panic-stricken and fumbling for a response, the crew of a South Korean ferry dithered over the evacuation of passengers in the crucial final moments before it sank, a transcript released Sunday revealed, as divers began retrieving bodies from the vessel.

Investigators arrested ferry captain Lee Joon-Seok on Saturday along with a helmsman and the ship’s relatively inexperienced third officer, charging them with negligence and failing to secure the safety of hundreds of passengers -- most of them children on a high school holiday trip.

In the final nerve-wracking moments before the vessel began listing dangerously, an unidentified crew member on the 6,825-tonne Sewol repeatedly asked an official from Jindo Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) whether help was on the way.

"We are listing. Now we are about to go down," the crew member said. "It has tilted so much and we can hardly move."

In another message, the crew member revealed that safety instructions couldn’t be relayed to passengers as the PA system on board was broken at that crucial moment.

Regardless, "please advise passengers to wear life jackets and wear as many layers as possible," the VTS official retorted.

"Would passengers be rescued immediately once evacuated?" the crew member said in response. "Make them wear a life ring at least and let them float. Now!" the official insisted.

The crew have faced vehement criticism over the delay in mobilising passengers as the ship first foundered, a possibly fatal error of judgement before the vessel fully submerged with hundreds trapped on board.

Experts have suggested that many more people might have escaped if they had moved to reach evacuation points before the ship listed sharply and water started flooding in.

The dramatic transcript released by South Korean officials is bound to fuel anger among distraught relatives of the passengers, some of whom scuffled with police on Sunday over what they say has been a botched response to the disaster.

The confirmed death toll from the disaster stands at 59 so far, with 243 people still unaccounted for.

’Save my child’

Coastguard officials said 19 bodies had been removed from the ship which sank on Wednesday morning, pushing operations further along the painful transition from rescue to recovery and identification.

It was a key moment for distraught relatives, who have clung desperately to the hope that some passengers may have survived in air pockets in the upturned vessel.

Bodies were placed in tents at the harbour on Jindo island -- not far from the disaster site -- where the relatives have been camped out in a gymnasium since the ferry went down.

In a process that looks set to be repeated with tragic frequency in coming days, they were checked for IDs and other particulars, after which their relatives were informed and asked to make an official identification.

Some of the policemen standing guard at the tents were openly weeping, while the cries of the family members could be heard from inside.

Of the 476 people on board the Sewol, 350 were high school students headed for the holiday island of Jeju.

Nearly 200 family members set off Sunday on a hike from Jindo to Seoul -- 420 kilometres (260 miles) to the north -- where they planned to march on the presidential Blue House in protest over the rescue efforts.

Scuffles broke out when they were prevented from crossing the bridge to the mainland by a large police detachment, and eventually they were forced to turn back.

One of the marchers, Chung Hye-Sook, said she was appalled that the authorities had begun taking DNA samples to ease identification of the bodies before the entire ferry had been searched.

"What are those people thinking?" Chung shouted. "We are asking them to save our children’s lives. We can’t even think about DNA testing. I want to save my child first," she said.

Three giant floating cranes have been at the disaster site off the southwest coast of South Korea for days, but the coastguard has promised it will not begin lifting the ferry until it is clear there is nobody left alive.

Only 174 were rescued when the ferry sank and no new survivors have been found since Wednesday.

The ferry tragedy looks set to become one of South Korea’s worst peacetime disasters. A Seoul department store collapsed in 1995, killing more than 500 people, while nearly 300 people died when a ferry capsized off the west coast in 1993.


-- The Nation 2014-04-21

[webfact]

Ferry captain's action 'tantamount to murder' : South Korea president

Seoul - South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said Monday that the behaviour of the captain and crew of the ferry that capsized five days ago with 476 people on board was unacceptable and "tantamount to murder".

"The actions of the captain and some crew members were utterly incomprehensible, unacceptable and tantamount to murder," the presidential Blue House quoted Park as saying in a meeting with senior aides.


-- The Nation 2014-04-21

[tingtongteesood]

Once again it seems that a large number of deaths have been caused due to corruption, greed, lax safety standards and sheer stupidity. Very sad for all the poor victims in this tragic affair. RIP to all.

[webfact]

UPDATE:

Death toll of the South Korean ferry accident reaches 108 and 194 missing

The death toll from the ferry accident off the country's southern coast soared to over 100 Tuesday as rescue workers capitalized on the slowing currents.

The search mission resumed early Tuesday, and divers brought in 21 bodies from the wreckage pushing the death toll to 108 and the number of those unaccounted for to 194 as of 4 p.m.

Of the 476 who were on board when the Sewol sank 20 kilometers off the coast of Jindo Island on Wednesday, 325 were students of Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. Of them, 75 have been rescued.

The authorities have been speeding up search operations in time with the neap tide, when the difference between high and low tides is the least. The neap tide is expected to last until Thursday.

While the neap tide lasts, the authorities plan to deploy divers around the clock.

The search efforts are being concentrated on the third and fourth decks, where the majority of the missing people are considered to have been at the time of the accident.

The rescue workers suspect that a large number of passengers would have gathered in the dining hall on the third deck as the accident occurred during breakfast time.

Along with the search inside the vessel, a large number of ships and aircraft are continuing to look for those who may have floated to the surface.//The Korea Herald//Asia News Network


-- The Nation 2014-04-22

[Mosha]

Evidence shows the ship did not turm sharply. It was the officers 1st turn at the controls.

http://news.uk.msn.com/world/doomed-ferry-didnt-turn-sharply-1

[Credo]

My deepest sympathies to all of the families of this tragedy. What should have been an uneventful and pleasant journey has turned out to be a nightmare for an entire nation.