South Korea's president meets relatives of those missing after ferry disaster

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/04/south-korea-ferry-disaster-south-korea

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The South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, has told families of those missing in a sunken ferry that her heart breaks knowing what they are going through.

Park met with some 50 relatives in Paengmok port on Jindo, an island near where the ferry sank on 16 April with 476 people aboard, most of them students from a single high school. With eight bodies recovered on Sunday, the death toll reached 244 with 58 still missing while 174 survived, including 22 of the 29 crew members.

"I've gone through the grief of losing family, so I understand it well," Park told relatives, referring to the violent deaths of both parents, one of whom was a South Korean dictator. She added, "My heart breaks to think about how you must feel."

She added: "Anyone responsible for the accident and criminally at fault will be sternly punished."

It was her second visit to the families of the ferry victims. She has previously apologised for the government's inept initial response to the disaster.

Emergency task force spokesman Ko Myung-seok said that 60 out of 64 rooms on the ferry Sewol have been searched so far.

After visiting the families, Park boarded a coastguard vessel and arrived at the site where the ferry sank. Stepping on the barge, Park encouraged the divers, saying they were "the last hope" for the families.

Meanwhile, documents showed the Sewol exceeded its cargo limit on 246 trips in the past 13 months before it sank.