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Hundreds Remain Missing After South Korean Ferry Sinks Hundreds Missing After South Korean Ferry Sinks
(about 1 hour later)
SEOUL, South Korea — Nearly 300 people, most of them students, remained unaccounted for Wednesday as coast guard and navy divers continued to search a ferry that had sunk hours earlier off the southwestern tip of South Korea.SEOUL, South Korea — Nearly 300 people, most of them students, remained unaccounted for Wednesday as coast guard and navy divers continued to search a ferry that had sunk hours earlier off the southwestern tip of South Korea.
By early evening, two people were confirmed dead, a high school student and a member of the ferry’s crew. But fears of a major disaster increased as rescued passengers told South Korean news outlets that they believed many people had been trapped below deck Wednesday morning, as the ship tilted rapidly to one side and began sinking. By mid-evening, three people were confirmed dead, including a high school student and a member of the ferry’s crew. But fears of a major disaster increased as rescued passengers told South Korean news outlets that they believed many people had been trapped below deck Wednesday morning, as the ship tilted rapidly to one side and began sinking.
“We are doing our best to try to rescue even one more survivor,” Lee Gyeong-og, a deputy minister of security and public administration, said at a briefing. “We have 160 navy and coast guard divers working at the scene, but underwater visibility is not great.” “We must not give up,” President Park Geun-hye said from the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, which is coordinating rescue efforts. “We must do our best to rescue even one of those passengers and students who may not have escaped from the ship.”
Among the passengers were 325 students from Danwon High School in Ansan, south of Seoul. They were on an overnight voyage to Jeju, a popular resort island, where they had been scheduled to arrive Wednesday morning for a four-day field trip that included sightseeing. Lee Gyeong-og, vice minister of security and public administration, said that 160 navy and coast guard divers were working at the scene, but that their operations were hampered by rapid currents and poor underwater visibility.
The Ministry of Security and Public Administration reported that 164 passengers and crew members were known to have been rescued; accounting for the known deaths, that left 293 of the 459 people on the ferry unaccounted for. Earlier in the day, the ministry had issued different figures, including a much lower estimate of the missing; it attributed the mistakes to confusing reports from the scene. Among the passengers were 325 students from Danwon High School in Ansan, south of Seoul. So far, 78 of them have been rescued. The students were on an overnight voyage to Jeju, a popular resort island, where they had been scheduled to arrive Wednesday morning for a four-day field trip and sightseeing.
Mr. Lee declined to comment on whether the most of the missing should be presumed dead. But a sharp increase in the death toll was feared as ships, helicopters and divers expanded their search, with no immediate results. Divers were trying to make their way into chambers of the ship where passengers were reported to have been trapped. The Ministry of Security and Public Administration reported that 164 passengers and crew members were known to have been rescued; accounting for the known deaths, that left 292 of the 459 people on the ferry unaccounted for. Earlier in the day, the ministry had issued different figures, including a much lower estimate of the missing; it attributed the mistakes to confusing reports from the scene.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear. The South Korean news media cited unidentified passengers rescued from the ship as saying that the ship had begun leaning severely after a loud impact. The ship later capsized and sank, with only its tip protruding from the water.
The 6,825-ton ferry, the Sewol, was sailing from Incheon, a port west of Seoul, to Jeju, which is 60 miles off the south coast of South Korea, on Wednesday morning when it sent a distress signal, setting off the rescue operation. The ship, built in Japan in 1994 and operated by Cheonghaejin Shipping Co. of South Korea, had capacity for 920 passengers.
A 27-year-old female crew member was found dead in the water, and a male student died while being treated at a hospital. Another victim was later found.
South Korea has not had a major ferry accident in two decades. The last was in 1994, when a tourist ferry caught fire on a lake, killing 30 people. A year earlier, 292 people died when an overloaded ferry, sailing despite warnings of bad weather, sank off the country’s west coast.
Mr. Lee declined to comment on whether most of the missing should be presumed dead. But a sharp increase in the death toll was feared as ships, helicopters and divers expanded their search, with no immediate results. Divers were trying to make their way into chambers of the ship where passengers were reported to have been trapped.
The ship’s departure from Incheon on Tuesday evening was delayed by two hours because of heavy fog off the west coast of South Korea, officials said.
Local news media quoted rescued passengers as saying that people in the ferry’s cafeteria and game room, below the main passenger decks, might not have escaped.Local news media quoted rescued passengers as saying that people in the ferry’s cafeteria and game room, below the main passenger decks, might not have escaped.
“The internal broadcast advised us to remain in our seats,” the national news agency Yonhap quoted a 57-year-old passenger, identified only by his surname, Yoo, as saying. “But I could not stay put because the water was coming up. So I came outside with my life jacket on.”“The internal broadcast advised us to remain in our seats,” the national news agency Yonhap quoted a 57-year-old passenger, identified only by his surname, Yoo, as saying. “But I could not stay put because the water was coming up. So I came outside with my life jacket on.”
“I wonder why they didn’t tell us to evacuate immediately,” he added.“I wonder why they didn’t tell us to evacuate immediately,” he added.
Kim Tae-young, a student who was rescued, also remembered seeing many passengers in the cafeteria and game room when the ship began tilting. By the time passengers tried to escape, it was too late, said Kim Seong-muk, a rescued passenger, in an interview with the all-news cable channel YTN. “People were shouting, ‘break the windows!’ but the water came up too quickly and many could not come outside,” he said.
Kim Tae-young, a student who was rescued, also remembered seeing many passengers in the cafeteria and game room when the ship began leaning.
“The water rushed in, up to my neck, and it was difficult to climb to the top of the boat because it was badly tilted,” Mr. Kim told News Y, a cable channel. “I saw shipping containers tossed off the ship’s deck and floating in the water. I also saw a vending machine toppled and two girls trapped under it.”“The water rushed in, up to my neck, and it was difficult to climb to the top of the boat because it was badly tilted,” Mr. Kim told News Y, a cable channel. “I saw shipping containers tossed off the ship’s deck and floating in the water. I also saw a vending machine toppled and two girls trapped under it.”
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear. The South Korean news media cited unidentified passengers rescued from the ship as saying that the ship had begun tilting severely after a loud impact. The ship later capsized and sank, with only its tip protruding from the water. YTN quoted students as describing a chaotic scene in which passengers tripped and bumped into one another and luggage was tossed about as the ship tilted and water came in. They said they jumped into the water in life jackets and swam to fishing boats that were arriving on the scene. They were later wrapped in blankets and taken to shelters and hospitals in nearby ports.
The 6,825-ton ferry, the Sewol, was sailing from Incheon, a port west of Seoul, to Jeju, which is 60 miles off the south coast of South Korea, on Wednesday morning when it sent a distress signal, setting off the rescue operation. In a message shown on the news channel, a student had texted: “Dad, I can’t walk out because the ship is tilted too much, and I don’t see anyone in the corridor.”
A 27-year-old female crew member was found dead in the water, and a male student died while being treated at a hospital. The ship sank in waters 104 feet deep, and the water temperature in the area was about 54 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius), cold enough to cause hypothermia after about two hours, according to officials.
South Korea has not had a major ferry accident in two decades. The last was in 1994, when a tourist ferry caught fire on a lake, killing 30 people. A year earlier, 292 people died when an overloaded ferry, sailing despite warnings of bad weather, sank off the country’s west coast.
The 24-hour news channel YTN quoted students as describing a chaotic scene in which passengers tripped and bumped into one another as the ship tilted and water came in. They said they jumped into the water in life jackets and swam to fishing boats that were arriving on the scene. They were later wrapped in blankets and taken to shelters and hospitals in nearby ports.
The ship sank in waters 104 feet deep, and the water temperature in the area was about 54 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius), cold enough to cause signs of hypothermia after about two hours, according to officials.
Kim Dong-soo, a truck driver who said he frequently took the ferry to Jeju and who was on the Sewol, told the cable channel News Y that the ship began tilting after making a sharp turn to the right. It was also sailing much closer to the coast than it usually does, he said.Kim Dong-soo, a truck driver who said he frequently took the ferry to Jeju and who was on the Sewol, told the cable channel News Y that the ship began tilting after making a sharp turn to the right. It was also sailing much closer to the coast than it usually does, he said.
“I wonder why the rescuers who first got to the ship didn’t do anything about those 100 or 200 I think were trapped inside the ship,” he said. “They were just picking up those already on the top of the ship.”“I wonder why the rescuers who first got to the ship didn’t do anything about those 100 or 200 I think were trapped inside the ship,” he said. “They were just picking up those already on the top of the ship.”
Parents gathered at the Ansan school waiting for news. Others were rushing to ports in southwestern South Korea hoping to meet their children there. Some of them first learned of the accident when their children called from the ship.Parents gathered at the Ansan school waiting for news. Others were rushing to ports in southwestern South Korea hoping to meet their children there. Some of them first learned of the accident when their children called from the ship.
South Korean television footage showed coast guard helicopters pulling passengers off the tilting ship. Pictures released by the coast guard showed rescue ships and inflatable lifeboats in waters near the ferry. The waters were strewn with debris. South Korean television footage depicted coast guard helicopters pulling passengers off the tilting ship. Pictures released by the coast guard showed rescue ships and inflatable lifeboats in waters near the ferry. The waters were strewn with debris.
The ship’s departure from Incheon on Tuesday evening was delayed by two hours because of heavy fog off the west coast of South Korea, officials said.