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| South Korean ferry captain was not at the helm when it sank, investigators say | South Korean ferry captain was not at the helm when it sank, investigators say |
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| The captain of the South Korean ferry that sank on Wednesday was not at the helm of the vessel when it capsized, investigators said on Friday as hopes dimmed for almost 300 passengers still trapped inside.The official death toll from the disaster, which occurred off the south-west coast of South Korea, rose to 28 after several bodies were retrieved from the sea near the wreck of the Sewol.As hundreds of divers, rescue boats and aircraft continued the frantic search for survivors in difficult conditions about 25 kilometres off the island of Jindo, accident investigators focused on the actions of the captain, Lee Joon-seok, and his crew.Officials said a junior officer was steering the ship when the accident occurred, adding that Lee, who has been criticised for apparently jumping into a rescue boat while hundreds of his passengers remained aboard, may have been in another part of the vessel."He [the captain] may have been off the bridge,“ Park Jae-eok, an investigating official, told reporters in Mokpo, a city near the port from where the rescue operation is being directed. “And the person at the helm at the time was the third officer.”Lee, who is being questioned by police about his actions, has come under fire for apparently abandoning the ship 30 to 40 minutes after it began listing.Survivors and the parents of missing children have voiced anger thatpassengers were initially told to stay in their seats and cabins rather than make their way to the emergency exits.It emerged on Friday that the crew had not acted immediately on an order by a local transportation office to tell passengers to put on life jackets and prepare to evacuate.The order, from officials on Jeju, came five minutes after the accident, but the crew did not tell people to leave the ferry for at least another 25 minutes. Some survivors said they did not hear any instructions to abandon the ship.Twenty of the ship’s 30 crew survived, reports said. | |
| The ferry was carrying 475 passengers and crew on a trip from the western port of Incheon to the southern resort island of Jeju. The passengers included 325 teenagers and 15 teachers from a school near Seoul, many of whom are among the 268 still unaccounted for.The 6,835-tonne ferry sank about two hours after issuing a distress signal shortly before 9am on Wednesday. It is still unclear what caused the Sewol to roll onto its side and sink, but there is speculation that it either hit a submerged rock, or began to list after a sharp turn caused poorly secured cargo to shift suddenly to one side of the ship. | |
| Coastguard officials said investigators were looking into possible negligence by the crew and potential problems with the way the cargo was stowed, although the ship reportedly passed all its safety and insurance checks.Lee, 69, has not commented publicly on the situation on the bridge at the time of the accident, or why he abandoned the ship while hundreds of passengers were still on board.On Thursday he issued a brief apology to the relatives of the dead and missing. "I am really sorry and deeply ashamed," he said. "I don't know what to say."But parents who spent another sleepless night at a hospital in Mokpo were scathing about Lee’s actions. “How could he tell those young kids to stay there and jump from the sinking ship himself?" said Ham Young-ho, whose grandchild, 17-year-old Lee Da-woon, is among those confirmed dead.Two vessels equipped with cranes were expected to arrive at the accident site on Friday to help with the rescue effort and salvage the ferry.Divers began pumping air into the ship on Friday, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the air was for possible survivors or to assistthe salvage operation.Attempts to search inside the ship have been hampered by strong currents and poor underwater visibility. More than 500 divers, 169 vessels and 29 aircraft are now involved in the rescue operation, according to the South Korean coast guard. | Coastguard officials said investigators were looking into possible negligence by the crew and potential problems with the way the cargo was stowed, although the ship reportedly passed all its safety and insurance checks.Lee, 69, has not commented publicly on the situation on the bridge at the time of the accident, or why he abandoned the ship while hundreds of passengers were still on board.On Thursday he issued a brief apology to the relatives of the dead and missing. "I am really sorry and deeply ashamed," he said. "I don't know what to say."But parents who spent another sleepless night at a hospital in Mokpo were scathing about Lee’s actions. “How could he tell those young kids to stay there and jump from the sinking ship himself?" said Ham Young-ho, whose grandchild, 17-year-old Lee Da-woon, is among those confirmed dead.Two vessels equipped with cranes were expected to arrive at the accident site on Friday to help with the rescue effort and salvage the ferry.Divers began pumping air into the ship on Friday, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the air was for possible survivors or to assistthe salvage operation.Attempts to search inside the ship have been hampered by strong currents and poor underwater visibility. More than 500 divers, 169 vessels and 29 aircraft are now involved in the rescue operation, according to the South Korean coast guard. |