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Pilot Steering Ferry Had No Experience in Treacherous Waterway Ferry Pilot Was Negotiating Treacherous Waterway for First Time, Prosecutors Say
(35 minutes later)
JINDO, South Korea — A 26-year-old third mate was steering a South Korean ferry through a notoriously treacherous waterway for the first time when it tilted and sank, prosecutors said on Saturday, as rescuers raced to find anyone alive among the 270 missing passengers. JINDO, South Korea — A 26-year-old third mate was steering a South Korean ferry through a notoriously treacherous waterway for the first time when it tilted and sank, prosecutors said on Saturday, as rescuers raced against time to find any survivors among the 266 missing passengers, many of them believed to have been trapped inside the capsized vessel.
At a kilometer-long and 4.5 kilometers wide, the Maenggol Waterway has long provided a shortcut for ships trying to save fuel and time navigating the waters off the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula, which are dotted with islands. But the Maenggol has a reputation for the fastest and most unpredictable currents around the peninsula. Questions about the qualifications of the third mate, Park Han-gyeol, mounted on Saturday, after investigators revealed that the ship’s captain, Lee Jun-seok, 69, was in his quarters, leaving Ms. Park in charge of the bridge when the ferry was negotiating the waterway 11 miles from Jindo Island.
“It was her first time steering the ship through the Maenggol Waterway,” said Yang Joong-jin, a senior prosecutor who is taking part in the government’s investigation of the ferry sinking. “There is nothing legally wrong with that. But it does give us important data on how well qualified” was the third mate, Park Han-gyeol. For ages, the 3.7-mile-long, 2.8-mile-wide Maenggol Waterway has provided a shortcut for ships that try to save fuel or time navigating waters dotted with islets off the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula. But the channel also has a reputation for having one of the most rapid and unpredictable currents around the peninsula.
The ship’s captain, Lee Jun-seok, 69, was in his room on Wednesday and had left the third mate in charge of the ship when the episode began 11 miles from the island of Jindo. “It was her first time steering the ship through the Maenggol Waterway,” said Yang Joong-jin, a senior prosecutor who is part of the government’s investigation. “There is nothing legally wrong with that. But it does give us important data on how well qualified she was.”
Mr. Lee as well as Ms. Park were taken to jail with their hands cuffed after a judge approved their arrest warrants. The crew members also faced numerous charges. Ms. Park ended up in command of the ship by chance.
“I bow before the people and grieved families and apologize,” Mr. Lee told reporters as he was led to jail. He added that he “partly” accepted the charges against him. The three regular mates on the 6,825-ton car ferry, the Sewol, worked on a fixed rotation of four-hour shifts, with Ms. Park on duty at the bridge from 8 a.m. to noon. The ship had been scheduled to leave Incheon, a port west of Seoul, at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday with 476 people on board, including 325 second-year high school students headed for a field trip on the southern island of Jeju. Ms. Park had been working aboard the ferry on the Incheon-Jeju route for six months.
Not long after the arrests, officials said that divers had discovered three bodies inside the submerged vessel. But the ship’s departure was delayed by two and a half hours because of heavy fog. Had it left on time, the ship would have passed the spot where it foundered and sank half an hour before Ms. Park’s shift was to have started.
As hope dwindled that any of the 236 missing students would be found alive, their high school was stunned Friday by more tragic news: the death of its vice principal in what was suspected to be a suicide. Ms. Park was unavailable for comment. She was arrested Saturday, along with the captain and a helmsman who was also on duty with Ms. Park. They face criminal charges of abandoning their ship and passengers during a crisis, accidental homicide, or both.
The vice principal, Kang Min-kyu, 52, of Danwon High School, who survived the ferry accident, was found hanging from a tree near a gymnasium where families of the missing had gathered. The police suspected Mr. Kang had hanged himself. The factors that led to Ms. Park’s being in charge while the ferry plied the Maenggol Waterway may provide another piece of the puzzle investigators are putting together. Ever since the ship capsized on Wednesday morning, investigators have worked to unravel the mysteries surrounding one of South Korea’s worst peacetime disasters, especially the question of why the ship suddenly tilted as it passed a curve in the shipping lane.
“It’s too much, being alive alone while more than 200 of my students are missing,” he wrote in a note found in his wallet, according to the police. “Please place all the blame on me because I was in charge of the trip. Please cremate my body and scatter the ashes where the ship sank. Perhaps I should be a teacher for those missing children in the other world.” On Saturday, navy divers struggled to enter the ship for a fourth straight day. Many of the survivors have said a large number of passengers were probably trapped inside the overturned and sunken ship, partly because they had been advised by the ship’s crew to stay put even while the ship was tilting dangerously.
On Friday, investigators said that Mr. Lee, the ship’s captain, who has been criticized for being among the first to leave the sinking ship, was not at the steering house when the ferry, the Sewol, tilted and began sinking on Wednesday morning. “The chances of anyone surviving in there depend on many factors, such as the water temperature and individual conditions,” said Ko Myong-seok, a senior Coast Guard officer involved in rescue operations.
“He temporarily left the steering command to his third shipmate,” said Park Jae-uk, a senior investigator. Three and a half days after the ship capsized, hopes have dwindled. All of the 174 survivors were found in the immediate hours after the ship’s sinking, and rescuers have since found only 36 bodies. Officials said Saturday that the recovery operation could take weeks.
The captain returned to the bridge as soon as the ship began tilting, Mr. Park said. The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that the third mate had a year of experience steering ships, five months of it on the 6,825-ton Sewol. Divers have tried to get inside the sunken ship to find bodies or passengers who might be still alive in air pockets. But each time, they have been thwarted by strong currents and poor visibility.
Even when they were able to enter the ship, they soon had to retreat, with their way blocked by debris. Through a window, divers saw three bodies in life jackets floating inside on Saturday, Coast Guard officials said at a briefing, and broke through a window to recover them. They were the first bodies recovered from the ship.
On Saturday night, flares illuminated the murky blue waters as divers plunged into the night sea to try again to get inside the ship. To help, officials brought in nine squid-fishing boats, which have powerful lights used to lure the fish at night. They also hired four trawlers to catch any bodies drifting away in the strong current.