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Author Topic: April 16/14 - Ferry Sinks Off South Korean Coast  (Read 20867 times)
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« on: April 16, 2014, 12:36:48 PM »

At least 4 dead, 284 missing after ferry sinks off South Korean coast
Published April 16, 2014


South Korean officials said Wednesday that nearly 300 people were still missing several hours after a multi-story passenger ferry sank off that country's southern coast, leaving at least four dead and dozens injured.

The ferry was carrying 459 people, most of them high school students, and was bound for the island of Jeju when it sent a distress call at around 9 a.m. local time Wednesday as it began leaning to one side, according to South Korea's Ministry of Security and Public Administration.

Lee Gyeong-og, a vice minister for South Korea's Public Administration and Security Ministry, said the 459 people included 30 crew members, 325 high school students, 15 teachers and 89 non-student passengers.

Kang Byung-kyu, a government minister, said two of the dead were a female crew member and a male high school student. He said a third body was also believed to be that of a student. A coast guard officer confirmed a fourth fatality, but had no immediate details about it.

He said 164 people were rescued; 55 of them were injured. He said 284 people were missing, likely either trapped inside the ship or floating in the ocean.

The high number of people unaccounted for -- likely trapped in the ship or floating in the ocean -- raised fears that the death toll could rise drastically.

"We cannot give up," said South Korean President Park Geun-hye, after a briefing in Seoul with officials. "We have to do our best to rescue even one passenger."

Media photos showed wet students, some without shoes, some wrapped in blankets, tended to by emergency workers. One student, Lim Hyung-min, told broadcaster YTN from a gym on a nearby island that he and other students jumped into the ocean wearing life jackets and then swam to a nearby rescue boat.

"As the ferry was shaking and tilting, we all tripped and bumped into each another," Lim said, adding that some people were bleeding. Once he jumped, the ocean "was so cold. ... I was hurrying, thinking that I wanted to live."

The water temperature in the area was about 12 degrees Celsius, cold enough to cause signs of hypothermia after about 90 minutes or 2 hours, according to an emergency official who spoke on condition of anonymity citing department rules. Officials said mud on the ocean floor made underwater search operations difficult.

At least 87 vessels and 18 aircraft swarmed around the stricken ship. Rescuers clambered over its sides, pulling out passengers wearing orange life jackets. But the ship overturned completely and continued to sink slowly. Within a few hours only its blue-and-white bow stuck out of the water. Very soon, that too disappeared.

Local media photographs showed the ship heavily tilted onto its side, partially submerged, as helicopters flew overhead and rescue vessels and a small boat covered with an orange tarp floated nearby.

Those rescued -- wet, stunned and many without shoes -- were brought to nearby Jindo Island, where medical teams wrapped them in pink blankets and checked them for injuries before settling them down on the floor of a cavernous gymnasium hall.

Some 160 coast guard and navy divers searched for survivors inside the ship's wreckage a few miles from Byeongpung Island, which is not far from the mainland and about 290 miles from Seoul. Cho Man-yong, a coast guard spokesman, said 16 divers approached the ferry Wednesday night but failed to get inside because the current was too strong.

The U.S. Navy said the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, which was on a routine patrol off South Korea's west coast on Wednesday, would assist in the search and rescue operation.

"We heard a big thumping sound and the boat stopped," a passenger told the YTN news channel by telephone, The Guardian reported. "The boat is tilting and we have to hold on to something to stay seated."

Park Ji-hee, a first-year student, said she saw about a dozen parents crying at the school entrance and many cars and taxies gathered at the gate as she left in the morning.

She said some students in her classroom began to cry as they saw the news on their cellphones. Teachers tried to soothe them, saying that the students on the ship would be fine.

Passenger Kim Seong-mok, speaking from a nearby island after his rescue, told YTN that he was "certain" people were trapped inside the ship as water quickly filled up inside and the severe tilt of the ferry kept them from reaching the exits. Some people yelled at those who couldn't get out, urging them to break windows.

Kim said that after having breakfast, he felt the ferry tilt and then heard it crash into something. He said the ferry operator made an announcement asking that passengers wait and not move from their places. Kim said he didn't hear any announcement telling passengers to escape.

The students -- half of them boys and half girls -- are from Danwon High School in Ansan city, which is near Seoul, and were on their way to Jeju island for a four-day trip, according to a relief team set up by Gyeonggi province, which governs the city. There are faster ways to get to Jeju, but some people take the ferry from Incheon because it is cheaper than flying. Many South Korean high schools organize trips for students in their first or second years, and Jeju is a popular destination. The students on the ferry were in their second year, which would make most of them 16 or 17.

Yonhap news agency said the 480-foot-long ship, which travels twice a week between Incheon and Jeju, was built in Japan in 1994 and could carry a maximum of 921 people, 180 vehicles and 152 shipping containers.

<snipped>

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/04/16/south-korea-ship-with-471-people-aboard-is-sinking-authorities-say/



 

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« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2014, 12:39:39 PM »





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« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2014, 12:42:19 PM »

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« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2014, 08:52:14 PM »

At least 6 dead, 290 missing after ferry sinks off South Korean coast
Published April 16, 2014


South Korean officials said Wednesday that nearly 300 people were still missing several hours after a multi-story passenger ferry sank off that country's southern coast, leaving at least six dead and dozens injured.

The ferry was carrying 459 people, most of them high school students, and was bound for the island of Jeju when it sent a distress call at around 9 a.m. local time Wednesday as it began leaning to one side, according to South Korea's Ministry of Security and Public Administration.

Lee Gyeong-og, a vice minister for South Korea's Public Administration and Security Ministry, said the 459 people included 30 crew members, 325 high school students, 15 teachers and 89 non-student passengers.

Kang Byung-kyu, a government minister, said two of the dead were a female crew member and a male high school student. He said a third body was also believed to be that of a student. A coast guard officer confirmed three other fatalities but had few details about them.

He said 164 people were rescued; 55 of them were injured. He said 284 people were missing, likely either trapped inside the ship or floating in the ocean.

The high number of people unaccounted for -- likely trapped in the ship or floating in the ocean -- raised fears that the death toll could rise drastically.

<snipped>

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/04/16/south-korea-ship-with-471-people-aboard-is-sinking-authorities-say/?intcmp=latestnews
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« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2014, 12:58:44 PM »

South Korea ferry disaster: captain and crew accused of abandoning passengers
Thursday 17 April 2014 12.33 BST


The parents of hundreds of children missing after Wednesday's ferry accident off the coast of South Korea have accused the captain of the vessel of abandoning passengers after it emerged that he and six other crew members were among the first to leave the ship after it started to sink.

The captain, Lee Joon-seok, who is reportedly in his 60s, escaped from the 6,835-ton Sewol just 40 minutes after the vessel apparently ran aground and started to list severely.

Survivors and the families of 287 people, most of them teenagers, who are thought to be trapped inside the sunken vessel directed their anger towards Lee, according to South Korean media reports, as rescue efforts continued in the dim hope that some of the missing passengers might still be alive. Navy divers tried to enter the capsized ship more than 10 times on Thursday, but were hampered by strong currents and poor visibility.

Local officials said 287 people remained unaccounted for more than a day after the vessel, with 475 on board, quickly sank in what may be South Korea's worst ferry disaster for two decades. Twenty people, including five high school pupils and two teachers, are known to have died, while 179 have been confirmed safe, including most of the 30 crew members, South Korean media said.

Lee, his face hidden by a grey hoodie, told reporters at the coastguard offices that he felt "really sorry for the passengers, victims and their families and am deeply ashamed. I don't know what to say." He had earlier been criticised after he was seen drying wet banknotes on his bed while being interviewed by journalists.

Kim Jae-in, a coastguard spokesman, said coastguard officials were questioning Lee, but denied earlier reports that the ferry had turned too swiftly when it was supposed to make a slow turn. He also declined to say whether the ferry had strayed from its usual route.

<snipped>

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/17/south-korea-disaster-captain-crew-abandoning-passengers




Lee Joon-Seok (centre), captain of the South Korean ferry that sank at sea off Jindo, is questioned by reporters. Photograph: Yonhap/Reuters






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« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2014, 01:01:06 PM »



South Korean Coast Guard officers search for missing passengers aboard a sunken ferry in the water off the southern coast near Jindo, South Korea
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« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2014, 01:03:17 PM »



The sinking ferry as it looked on Wednesday
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« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2014, 01:05:46 PM »



Families of missing passengers in the sinking of the ferry Sewol stay at a gym on Jindo Island in southwestern South Korea, 17 April 2014
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« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2014, 06:05:50 PM »

How did the  Captain get out and no one else can
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« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2014, 06:07:09 PM »



The sinking ferry as it looked on Wednesday


Their has to be a way to get these people out 
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« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2014, 08:18:09 AM »

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/18/world/asia/south-korea-ship-sinking/
Police: Arrest warrant issued for captain, 2 crew members of sunken S. Korea ferry
April 18, 2014

Jindo, South Korea (CNN) -- An arrest warrant has been issued for the captain of the ferry that sank off the coast of South Korea, an accident that killed 28 people and left nearly 270 missing.
Two other crew members also face arrest, a spokesman for the joint prosecutor and police investigators said Friday.
The spokesman did not provide any further detail.
The cause of the accident still isn't known. But a Korean prosecutor said the captain, Lee Joon Suk, wasn't in the steering room when the ship started to sink; a third mate was at the helm.
"It is not clear where (the captain) was when the accident occurred, although it is clear that he was not in the steering room before the actual accident happened," state prosecutor Jae-Eok Park said Friday.
The captain was one of at least 179 people rescued soon after Wednesday's sinking.
In a tragic twist, one of those rescued, a high school vice principal who was on board the ferry along with more than 300 students, was found hanging from a tree, police said.
Kang Min Kyu, 52, vice principal of Ansan Danwon High School, was among the first survivors to be rescued.
Police said he apparently hanged himself with a belt from a tree near a gymnasium in Jindo, where distraught relatives of missing passengers have been camping out.
Meanwhile, divers raced to reach the hundreds of people still believed to be inside the ship.
Divers breached the hull of the sunken ferry Friday, and two managed to enter the second deck -- the cargo deck, the South Korean coast guard said. But rough waters forced them back out again. They didn't find any bodies in their brief search.
"The guide line that links the sunken ship and the rescue vessel has been cut off," the coast guard said. "Still, the entrance into the ship is open, and we plan to resume operation to enter the ship."
It's a race against time.
Hopes of finding the missing dimmed further when the entire boat became submerged Friday. Until then, part of the ship's blue-and-white hull was still poking out of the frigid waters of the Yellow Sea.
On top of that, divers must contend with fierce winds and rough waters.
"There are heavy currents in the area. So the vessel itself is not stable in the water. So you are, by default, putting divers at risk," U.S. Navy Capt. Heidi Agle told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. The U.S. Navy is assisting with the South Korean search.
 
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« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2014, 08:45:25 AM »

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/18/us-korea-ship-idUSBREA3F01Y20140418
Vice-principal of South Korea school in ferry disaster commits suicide
April 18, 2014

(Reuters) - The vice-principal of a South Korean high school who accompanied hundreds of pupils on a ferry that capsized has committed suicide, police said on Friday, as hopes faded of finding any of the 268 missing alive.

The Sewol, carrying 475 passengers and crew, capsized on Wednesday on a journey from the port of Incheon to the southern holiday island of Jeju.

Kang Min-gyu, 52, had been missing since Thursday. He appeared to have hanged himself with his belt from a tree outside a gym in the port city of Jindo where relatives of the people missing on the ship, mostly children from the school, were gathered.

Police said Kang did not leave a suicide note and that they started looking for him after he was reported missing by a fellow teacher. He was rescued from the ferry after it capsized.
 
The 69-year-old ship captain has also come under scrutiny after witnesses said he was among the first to escape the sinking vessel that was on a 400-km (300-mile) voyage to Jeju.

According to investigators, Captain Lee Joon-seok was not on the bridge at the time the Sewol started to list sharply, with a junior officer at the wheel.

Prosecutors on Friday issued arrest warrants for Lee, the officer at the wheel and one other crew member for failing in their duty to aid passengers.

"I'm not sure where the captain was before the accident. However right after the accident, I saw him rushing back into the steering house ahead of me," said Oh Young-seok, one of the helmsmen on the ship who was off duty and resting at the time.

"He calmly asked by how much the ship was tilted, and tried to re-balance the ship," said Oh who was speaking from a hospital bed in the city of Mokpo on Friday, where the injured have been taken.

NORMAL PRACTICE

Handing over the helm is normal practice on the voyage from Incheon to Jeju that usually takes 13.5 hours, according to local shipping crew.

Divers gained access to the cargo deck of the ferry on Friday, although that was not close to the passenger quarters, according to a coastguard official.

Other coastguard officials said that divers made several attempts to reach the passenger areas but failed.

"We cannot even see the ship's white color. Our people are just touching the hull with their hands," Kim Chun-il, a diver from Undine Marine Industries, told relatives of the missing.

The ferry went down in calm conditions and was following a frequently travelled route in familiar waters. Although relatively close to shore, the area was free of rocks and reefs.

Lee has not commented on when he left the ship, although he has apologized for the loss of life.

He was described as an industry veteran by the officials from Chonghaejin Marine Co Ltd, the ship owner, and others who had met him described him as an "expert".

"I don't know why he abandoned the ship like that," said Ju Hi-chun, a maritime author who interviewed the captain in 2006 as one of the experts on the route to Jeju island.

But he added: "Koreans don't have the view that they have to stay with their ship until the end. It is a different culture from the West."

Some media reports have said the vessel turned sharply, causing cargo to shift and the ship to list before capsizing.

Marine investigators and the coastguard have said it was too early to pinpoint a cause for the accident and declined to comment on the possibility of the cargo shifting.

The record of the ferry owner was also under investigation and documents were removed from its headquarters in Incheon.

Chonghaejin Marine Co Ltd is an unlisted company that operates five ships. It reported an operating loss of 785 million won ($756,000) last year.

According to data from South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, a government body, Chonghaejin is "indirectly" owned by two sons of the owner of a former shipping company called Semo Marine which went bankrupt in 1997.
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« Reply #12 on: April 18, 2014, 05:07:31 PM »

Very sad news about the school principal's suicide. 


http://abcnews.go.com/International/disgraced-captain-left-bridge-ferry-sank-off-south/story?id=23375173
Ferry Captain Arrest Sought for Leaving Bridge at Critical Time

April 18, 2014

The black keel of the stricken ferry that has jutted above the water since the ship sank with hundreds of people on board slipped below the surface today as hope for survivors dwindled.

The death toll rose to 28, with 268 listed as missing, most of them high school students. The tragedy was compounded when officials found the vice principal who had led the school trip hanging from a tree by his belt.

The school official was identified as Kang Min-Kyu. He had been rescued from the sinking ferry and he left behind a note saying he was tormented with guilt for having survived while so many students were missing, according to the Associated Press. He asked that he be cremated and his ashes scattered at the ferry site.
 
Investigators have asked the courts for arrest warrants that named the captain, Lee Joon-seok, 68, and two crew members. The police said that Lee was not on the bridge at a time the ship was scheduled to make a turn, leaving the third mate in charge of the vessel. The third mate had just over a year’s worth of experience, West Maritime Police told ABC News.

Police also said the captain abandoned people who needed help, and delayed evacuating passengers.

"The captain escaped before the passengers," Yang Jung-jin, a senior prosecutor, told the AP.

But the announcement telling passengers to stay in place was “because rescue ships had not arrived," Lee said to reporters gathered outside the prosecutor's office, the Yonhap news agency reported, and he added that he eventually “gave an evacuation order."

He also admitted that he was not on the bridge at the moment the ferry made a sharp turn. "At the time [the ship] was turning, I had gone to the bedroom(s) for a moment,” he said, according to Yonhap, and he added that he had not been drinking.

Authorities pumped air into the ship earlier today in case there were survivors in an air pocket in the ship, even after the ship's keel later slipped below the water. The site of the sinking is now marked with buoys.

Three vessels with cranes arrived at the site to prepare to salvage the ferry. But they will not hoist the ship before getting approval from family members of those believed trapped inside because the lifting could endanger any survivors, a coast guard officer told the AP.

Divers were able to enter the ship's cargo deck today, Coast Guard officials said. The divers found many bodies huddled together, but they were unable to bring them up to the surface due to time restrictions.

Fresh details emerged from the moment when the vessel began to sink. The accident happened at a point where the ferry had to make a turn. Prosecutor Park Jae-eok told the AP that investigators were looking at whether the third mate ordered a turn that was so sharp that it caused the ship to list.

The captain's absence from the bridge may also be a factor. Yang said the turn was made when the ship was passing through an area with many islands clustered closely together, something he said is required by law so the captain can help a mate make a turn.

A transcript of the ship's distress calls to the harbor at the island of Jeju records the ferry crew saying they need help fast because the ship was tilting and a harbor official urging the ship's crew to get passengers evacuated.
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« Reply #13 on: April 18, 2014, 05:09:25 PM »

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=161069
Live updates on the sunken ferry disaster in Korea
April 18, 2014
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« Reply #14 on: April 18, 2014, 05:15:56 PM »


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-18/south-korean-ferry-captain-wasn-t-on-the-bridge-before-sinking.html
South Korea Ferry Captain Is Behind Bars, Yonhap Reports
April 18, 2014

The captain of a South Korean ferry that sank last week has been jailed and is facing five charges including negligence of duty and violation of maritime law, according to Yonhap News.
 
Lee, 69, wasn’t on the bridge at the time of the sinking and he had assigned the third navigation officer to steer the vessel, prosecutor Park Jae Uck told reporters yesterday. Lee is accused of having escaped before passengers when the 6,825-ton vessel slowly sank, according to Yonhap.

Investigators said they are probing whether the ferry, which is now entirely submerged, turned too quickly or abnormally. They declined to say what announcements were made as the ferry sank, or whether passengers were told to stay in their cabins.

About 10 crew including the captain were being investigated over whether mistakes were made, if they broke any rules related to cargo and if the ship had any faults, the coast guard said in a statement.

“It’s not as though we didn’t want to help,” crew member Oh Young Seok, 57, said in an interview at a hospital in Mokpo, during a break from police questioning. “We know the rule. The rule is to help the old and the weak, pregnant women, then other passengers, and then we should leave when it appears all have left, and the captain should abandon ship last. But the vessel was tilting so fast we couldn’t reach any lifeboats.”
 
Two announcements were given at around 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. calling on passengers to don life jackets and stay in their current location because the ferry was tilting, Oh said. The ferry first contacted authorities at 8:55 a.m. on April 16 to request coast guard assistance, according to an audio clip of the exchange issued by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

“Ship has listed a lot. Can’t move. Please come quick,” the ferry told the Vessel Traffic Services in Jeju, its destination.

“I did hear the announcement that we should stay put but I couldn’t,” Choi Chan Yeol, a 57-year-old chef, said in an interview at a hospital in Mokpo. Choi managed to escape by gripping a cord and pulling himself to the door of the restaurant hall. “It was scary as the ferry was tilting and water was filling up.”
 
The ferry, named Sewol, or “time and tide” in Korean, listed and capsized in an area of the ocean as shallow as 20 meters (66 feet) in some parts, based on readings from a coast guard vessel used in the rescue operation. The ship was en route from Incheon to Jeju island, popular with tourists.

Bodies found all had life jackets on and weren’t discovered inside the ferry. They may have been trapped under the vessel, the coast guard said.

“Divers are groping their way because visibility is so poor, 20-30 centimeters at best,” coast guard official Ko Myung Suk told reporters.

The number of divers conducting operations increases every six hours as the current off Korea’s southwest coast slows, according to notice boards at the situation room at Jindo county office. Each slowdown lasts about an hour. Floating cranes have also arrived at the site.

‘Upside Down’

“Pulling the ferry up isn’t going to be easy or smooth,” Kim Jae In, a press officer at the West Regional Headquarters of Korea Coast Guard said in Mokpo. “It’s completely upside down so if we move it wrong, it may tilt or sink further into the mud. This is something we cannot afford as lifesaving is our top priority, although we’re holding onto a slim chance.”

Authorities are considering using an oil tanker to attempt to slow down the current. Rescuers are also pumping air into the ferry to “increase the odds of survival,” the security ministry said in a statement.

In addition to the coast guard, 400 personnel from South Korea’s navy, air force and army have been sent to the area to aid the search and rescue. Altogether, 632 divers are working in turns, with 173 ships and 29 helicopters and other aircraft supporting, the security ministry said.
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« Reply #15 on: April 19, 2014, 11:40:20 AM »

Mate steering doomed ferry navigating waters for first time, prosecutor says
Published April 19, 2014


The third mate steering a South Korean ferry carrying 475 passengers that sank on Wednesday, killing 32 and leaving 270 missing, was navigating those waters for the first time when the accident occurred, a prosecutor said Saturday.

Senior prosecutor Yang Jung-jin told reporters that the 25-year-old mate was steering the ship as it passed through an area with lots of islands clustered close together and fast currents. The mate has six months of experience and hadn't steered before because another mate usually handles those duties.

The captain of the ferry that sank off South Korea leaving more than 300 missing or dead, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need. Lee Joon-seok, 68, along with two crew members were taken into custody, including the rookie third mate.

The number of confirmed dead rose to 32 when three bodies were found in the murky water near the ferry, said coast guard spokesman Kim Jae-in. Divers know at least some bodies remain inside the 6,852-ton vessel, but they have been unable to get inside due to strong currents, rain and an inability to break the windows. Hundreds of civilian, government and military divers were involved in the search effort Saturday.

<snipped>

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/04/19/transcript-shows-ferry-captain-delayed-evacuation/
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« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2014, 08:11:45 PM »

Death toll rises to 46 in South Korea ferry disaster
Published April 19, 2014


Divers searching inside the ferry that sank off South Korea have recovered 10 more bodies from inside the ship, increasing the confirmed death toll to 46.

Officials said Sunday the bodies were recovered after divers gained access to the inside of the ferry after three days of failed attempts due to strong currents.

More than 265 people, most of them high school students on a holiday trip, are missing. There are only 174 known survivors.

<snipped>

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/04/19/south-korea-ferry-captain-defends-not-telling-passengers-to-abandon-ship/
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Page 219: I have to make difficult choices every day.  I have to make a conscious decision every morning when I wake up not to be bitter, not to live in resentment and let anger control me.  It's not easy.  I ask God to help me.
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“A person of integrity expects to be believed and when he’s not, he let’s time prove him right.” -unknown
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« Reply #17 on: April 22, 2014, 02:18:44 PM »

http://www.wfaa.com/news/world/Cries-of-anguish-as-South-Korea-ferry-toll-tops-100-256165731.html
Cries of anguish as South Korea ferry toll tops 100
April 2014

 
The confirmed death toll from the April 16 disaster off South Korea's southern coast reached 113 on Tuesday, officials said, and about 190 people were still missing. Four crew members accused of abandoning the ship and failing to protect the passengers were arrested, three days after warrants were issued for the captain and two other crew.
The victims are overwhelmingly students of a single high school in Ansan, near Seoul. More than three-quarters of the 323 students are dead or missing, while nearly two-thirds of the other 153 people on board the ferry Sewol survived.
The number of corpses recovered has risen sharply since the weekend, when divers battling strong currents and low visibility were finally able to enter the submerged vessel.
Emergency task force spokesman Koh Myung-seok said bodies have mostly been found on the third and fourth floors of the ferry, where many passengers seemed to have gathered. Many students were housed in cabins on the fourth floor, near the stern of the ship, Koh said.
One by one, coast guard officers carried the newly arrived bodies covered in white sheets from a boat to a tent on the dock of Jindo island Tuesday.
The bodies are then driven in ambulances to two tents: one for men and boys, the other for women and girls. Families listen quietly outside as an official briefs them, then line up and file in. Only relatives are allowed inside.
Bodies are being identified visually, but family members have been providing DNA samples in case decomposition makes that impossible.
Twenty-two of the 29 members of the ferry's crew survived, and nine of them have been arrested or detained in connection with the investigation.
The captain, Lee Joon-seok, and two crew members were arrested Saturday on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need. Prosecutor Yang Jung-jin said a court issued arrest warrants Tuesday for four other crew members authorities had detained a day earlier. Two additional crew members were detained Tuesday.
The four crew members arrested Tuesday talked to reporters after a court hearing, their faces hidden with caps, hooded sweatshirts and masks.
One said they tried to correct the ferry's listing early on but "various devices, such as the balance weight, didn't work. So we reported the distress situation, according to the captain's judgment, and tried to launch the lifeboats, but the ferry was too tilted and we couldn't reach."
The captain has said he waited to issue an evacuation order because the current was strong, the water was cold and passengers could have drifted away before help arrived. But maritime experts said he could have ordered passengers to the deck - where they would have had a greater chance of survival - without telling them to abandon ship.
The cause of the disaster is not yet known. Senior prosecutor Ahn Sang-don said investigators are considering factors including wind, ocean currents, freight, modifications made to the ship and the fact that it turned just before it began listing. He said authorities will conduct a simulation and get experts' opinions.
A Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries official had said Friday that the vessel had taken a sharp turn. But on Tuesday a ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity saying he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said the ministry now has more complete details about the ship's path.
Data transmitted by the Sewol's automatic identification system, an on-board transponder used for tracking, show that the ship made a J-shaped turn.
The ministry official said AIS data received by a central station was incomplete because the ship's signal was weak, and that it missed more than three minutes of tracking. More complete data, retrieved from a base station in Mokpo, show that over the course of most of that time, the ship was making a roughly 180-degree turn.
Although the fisheries ministry released those details only on Tuesday, Ahn said prosecutors previously had complete details about the ferry's path.
It remains unclear why the ship turned around. The third mate, who was arrested Saturday, was steering at the time of the accident, in a challenging area where she had not steered before, and the captain said he was not on the bridge at the time.
 
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« Reply #18 on: April 23, 2014, 11:27:51 AM »

I see the headline and it's bad enough. I can't read the entire article.  It just breaks my heart... 

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/south-korea-ferry-disaster/broken-fingers-reveal-south-korea-ferry-victims-escape-bids-n87416
Broken Fingers Reveal South Korea Ferry Victims' Escape Bids
April 23, 2014

Many of the children's bodies recovered from the sunken South Korea ferry in the past two days had broken fingers, local media reported - suggesting the victims had frantically tried to climb walls or floors to escape in their final moments.

Divers continued to swim though dark, cold waters into the submerged Sewol Wednesday, feeling for bodies with their hands in a maze of cabins, corridors and upturned decks.

"We have to touch everything with our hands,” said diver Hwang Dae-sik, whose team had retrieved 14 bodies so far.
 
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« Reply #19 on: April 23, 2014, 11:49:25 AM »



http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304518704579518993969767898?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304518704579518993969767898.html
South Korea Ferry Probe: Cargo Was Three Times Recommended Maximum
Officials From Ship Operator Are Banned From Leaving the Country

April 23, 2014

SEOUL—Prosecutors expanded their investigation into the owner of the sunken South Korean passenger ferry on Wednesday as inspectors confirmed the cargo weight declared by the ship on its final voyage was three times the recommended maximum.

Officials from Chonghaejin Marine Co., the operator of the ferry, were banned from leaving the country as investigators raided the offices of the company, its affiliates, the residence of the firm's owner, as well as other companies he owns.

Prosecutors also collected documents from the Korean Register of Shipping, a government-commissioned inspector that conducted safety checks on the ship earlier this year. The expanded investigation is looking into whether regulations were enforced and inspections properly completed on the doomed vessel.

The ferry operator declared it was loaded with 3,608 tons of cargo when it left Incheon port on Tuesday last week, according to radio communication with the Korean Shipping Association. An official at Korean Register said on Wednesday that the maximum recommended weight of cargo for the "Sewol" was 987 tons.

Prosecutors have yet to identify the cause of a tragedy a week earlier that has left more than 300 people dead or missing, although the focus on Chonghaejin Marine has intensified in recent days.
 
In addition to looking at possible overloading, prosecutors are also looking into whether the ferry was safe for operation after a redesign early last year. Modifications included adding extra passenger cabins, raising the passenger capacity by more than 150 people, and increasing the weight of the ship by almost 240 tons, the Korean Register said.
The changes were approved and met safety standards, but prosecutors are unsure whether the ship's owner made additional changes afterward. It is also not clear if Chonghaejin Marine followed a request from inspectors to take measures to ensure the ship remained balanced in case of tilting.

Appearing in front of the media on Tuesday, detained crew members of the ship said that it had poor stability and problems with its steering.

"If the investigation proves that they have violated the laws, the ferry operator's license will be revoked. We're reviewing such a possibility," said a director at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
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