Last Saturday, the captain, Jun-seok Lee and two other crew members of the capsized South Korean ferry Sewol were arrested. Over 200 passengers, most of them students from Danwon High School (Ansan, South Korea) are still missing. Around 30 of the Sewol passengers are reported to have been lost, and the principle of Danwon High School was believed to have commiteed suicide out of guilt.
While divers and maritime police and navy personnel try to penetrate the ship’s hull, angry and grieving relatives of the missing students continue to wait at a port in Jindo waiting for some news of their loved ones. The president of Korean Geun-Hye Park visited the site last Thursday to express her sorrows for the dire families.
Captian Lee and his two fellow crew members were taken into custody with charges that involved negligence and failing to follow the protocols to ensure the safety of their passengers. It is still unclear where the captain was or what he was doing when the ship capsized. The Sewol was damaged after she made a sharp turn, and what is evident was that the captain was aware of the serious situation, but did not take the responsibility of conveying the circumstances to the passengers.
It has been reported that the captain had announced to his passengers to remain where they were in their seats and quarters even over half an hour after the first distress calls were sent. As a result, all the passengers who followed his instructions were not even able to make it to the upper levels where they could have evacuated.
Captain Lee’s reasoning behind his judgment (he told REUTERS) was that he did not want to stir up panic among the passengers, and he also expressed that the harsh weather conditions may have caused many panicking passengers to fall overboard.
Meanwhile, Min-kyu Kang, the principle of Danwon High School, committed suicide after he was rescued from the capsized vessel. He said in a note he left behind told us that he thought he would not bear living without knowing what happened to the 273 students who are still missing.
The search for survivors continue at the capsized Sewol, and it is reported that divers have now managed to penetrate the 3rd level of the ship.
