The rescue for survivors from the capsizing of the South Korean ferry continues. So far, however, the navy and civilian rescue personnel have only managed to uncover bodies. The death toll has now reached approximately 150. Additional crew members were arrested along with the captain (Jun-seok Lee) concerning their questionable decisions that played a decisive role in the disaster.
There are still 190 missing passengers and the exact cause for the capsizing is still unknown. A representative of Chonghaejin Marine, the organization that ran the ferry delivered their sorrow and respects to the families of the passengers that were lost most of whom were high school students on their way to a field trip to the resort island of Jeju.
The crew has received a great deal of criticism both from the citizens and leaders of South Korea, after finding out that only 2 of the vessel’s 46 lifeboats were deployed when the disaster struck.
8 crew personnel including Captain Jun-seok Lee are arrested and taken to a courthouse on Tuesday. One of the crew members insisted that they had made attempts to deploy the lifeboats. However, investigations by the rescue teams have shown that the sailors have done nothing in their power to assure their passengers’ safety. Lee was heavily criticized especially for telling his passengers to stay where they were at the time the ship was damaged. The actions of Sewol’s crew were described as “akin to murder” by South Korea’s president, Geun-hye Park.
There have been many opinions as to what was the root cause of the Sewol’s fate. One elderly passenger testified that he had heard a loud bang before the ship capsized. He stated he had heard the noise from downstairs where the restaurants, shops and entertainment were, and realized that the passengers in those lower levels would not be able to escape.
The joint task force deployed to continue the search for survivors reported back only further findings of bodies along with harsher weather conditions. Divers are currently attempting to re-enter the 3rd and 4th floors with even a little hope of finding survivors.
