226 killed, hundreds missing after ferry capsizes off S.Korean coast
| Latest News |
S.Korean PM steps down for govt response to ferry tragedy
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won resigned on Sunday over criticism of the government's response to the April 16 Sewol ferry disaster that has left nearly 300 people dead or missing.
Floating objects slow recovering bodies from sunken S.Korean ferry
Corridors and passenger cabins of the sunken South Korean ferry, which capsized off the country's southwestern coast, were jammed with floating objects, hampering search for bodies trapped inside the hull amid fast currents and bad weather.
S.Korean PM steps down for govt response to ferry tragedy
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won resigned on Sunday over criticism of the government's response to the April 16 Sewol ferry disaster that has left nearly 300 people dead or missing.
Death toll rises to 187 in S. Korea ferry sinking disaster
Death toll in the South Korea ferry sinking disaster continued to rise to 187 on the morning of April 26, but search operations slowed amid faster tidal currents and worse weather.
|
Death toll rises to 187 in S. Korea ferry sinking disaster
|
| Basic information |
● Time:
April 16, 2014
● Location:
South Korea's southwest coast, 20 kilometers off the southern island of Byungpoong
● Departure place:
Incheon, South Korea
● Expected destination:
island of Jeju, South Korea
● Accident:
A South Korean ferry Sewol with more than 459 people on board, mostly high school students, capsized and sank off Jindo Island on the country's southwest coast.
The disaster, that could be South Korea's worst maritime accident, killed at least 49 victims and 253 people were still missing.
● Passenger:
The ferry was carrying 462 people, of whom 174 have been rescued.
There were nine confirmed deaths and 287 people are still "unaccounted for."
Composition:
325 students and 15 teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, south of Seoul
Two Chinese citizens, one 39-year-old male and a 38-year-old female
A teenager of Chinese origin
Two Philippine passengers aboard were rescued and sent to hospital for treatment.
● Basic facts about the Sewol:
The 6,825-ton ship was built in Japan in 1994 and, after 18 years of operation, was acquired by South Korean Chonghaejin Marine Co., Ltd. in 2012 and began plying the waters in March last year.
This is the second accident involving a Chonghaejin Marine vessel in three weeks. Another Chonghaejin ferry hit a 7.93-ton fishing boat on March 28 en route from Incheon to Baengnyeong Island in the West Sea. The 396-ton ship was carrying about 140 passengers and no injuries were reported in the accident.
| Photo gallery |
| Possible reasons |
● The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, although rescued passengers reported the ferry coming to a sudden, shuddering halt, indicating it may have run aground.
● South Korean media quoted some of the rescued passengers as saying a loud sound was heard before the ship started to list and then sank at around 11:30 am local time. The ship was believed to have hit a submerged rock or another ship in foggy conditions.
● South Korea's YTN reported the ship's departure time from South Korea's western port city of Incheon on Tuesday night was delayed. There was a possibility the ship changed its route in order to make up time.
Officials from South Korea's Security and Public Administration Ministry said the cause could be confirmed only after rescue and search work concluded.
| Rescue efforts |
South Korea:
● Coast guard vessels, fishing boats and helicopters:
a total of 555 coastguard and navy divers were working at the scene, and 29 airplanes and helicopters as well as 169 rescue ships have been dispatched to join the research operations.
● The first team of Navy divers succeeded in entering the vessel and searched three of its compartments, but they found no bodies.
● A second team of divers was to go underwater soon.
● Additional forces and ships are on the way to the area.
● An 82-member Ship Salvage Unit (SSU) and 114 elite navy SEAL divers raced to the site.
US:
● The US 7th Fleet said an amphibious assault ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard which was on routine patrol west of the Korean peninsula, was being sent to help.
| Reactions |
● South Korean government:
South Korean ferry capsizes leaving 284 missing
"I feel so pained to see students on a school trip ... face such a tragic accident. I want you to pour all your energy into this mission," President Park Geun-hye said on a visit to the main disaster agency situation room in Seoul.
South Korea traumatized by high school students' doomed voyage
Authorities have gathered relatives of passengers at a gym on nearby Jindo island.
After receiving the SOS, South Korean authorities, including police, fire, Coast Guard and Navy, dispatched 72 ships and 18 helicopters to the scene.
● Families of the passengers:
There was also confusion about the total number of passengers on board, as authorities revised the figure down from 477, saying some had been double counted. It added to growing frustration and anger among families of the passengers.
● Intl efforts:
France expresses condolence over South Korean ferry disaster
France expressed to South Korean authorities and people its condolences over the ferry disaster, a statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry said on April 16.
Fijian PM sends condolences to S. Korea over ferry sinking
Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has sent a condolence message to South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on the recent ferry sinking, the Fijian government said April 17.
| Timeline |
April 27
9:47 am
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won resigned on Sunday over criticism of the government's response to the April 16 Sewol ferry disaster that has left nearly 300 people dead or missing.
8:38 am
Corridors and passenger cabins of the sunken South Korean ferry, which capsized off the country's southwestern coast, were jammed with floating objects, hampering search for bodies trapped inside the hull amid fast currents and bad weather.
April 26
9:08 am
Only two more bodies were recovered from the sunken vessel overnight, raising the death toll to 187. A total of 115 people was still missing, with the number of those rescued remaining unchanged at 174 since the first day of the deadly sinking incident.
April 25
8:11 am
On April 25, seven more bodies were recovered from the ship overnight, raising the death toll to 181, with 121 still missing. The number of the rescued has been unchanged at 174 since the first day of the deadly incident.
9:04 pm
The Chinese embassy said that rescuers have recovered the body of a fourth Chinese passenger after South Korean ferry Sewol capsized and sank off Jindo Island on April 16.
April 24
7:58 am
Death toll in the South Korean ferry sinking disaster continued to rise to 159 on the morning as search operations became faster amid favorable climatic conditions.
11:02 am
The Chinese embassy said rescuers have recovered the body of a Chinese female passenger drowned after a South Korean ferry capsized, raising the death toll of Chinese nationals in the disaster to three.
8:04 pm
On April 24, 12 more bodies were retrieved from the submerged vessel, raising the death toll to 171, with 131 still missing and those rescued remaining unchanged at 174.
April 23
8:31 am
Death toll in South Korean sunken ferry accident rose to 128 on the morning as hundreds of divers searched inside the submerged vessel.
10:34 am
South Korean prosecutors raided the office of the sunken ferry operator, the owner's house and related affiliates, local media reported.
4:48 pm
Death toll continued to rise to 150 as hundreds of divers were searching inside the submerged vessel along guideline ropes amid favorable weather conditions. As of 11 am local time, 146 people have been confirmed dead, leaving 156 others still missing. The eighth day into search, the number of those rescued was unchanged at 174.
April 22
1:19 pm
The confirmed death toll from the South Korean ferry disaster has risen sharply to 104, with 198 passengers still unaccounted for.
April 21
1:08 am
Last-minute communications between a sunken South Korean ferry and a vessel traffic center were disclosed Sunday by pan-government emergency management headquarters.
8:53 am
Death toll rose to 64 Monday morning in the South Korean ferry sinking accident as divers kept entering inside the hull of the submerged vessel while ships were scouring the waters.
1:05 pm
South Korean President Park Geun- hye likened what the captain and some crew members of the sunken ferry did as murder on Monday, vowing to force those responsible to take legal responsibilities.
6:02 pm
Four more crew members were arrested over negligence of duty and violation of rescue acts charges.
6:50 pm
Death toll rose to 65 as one more female body was found while divers continued to search inside the submerged vessel and ships scoured the scene of the deadly incident.
7:50 pm
Death toll surged to 80 on the night as divers made intensive search operation inside the submerged hull, the Coast Guard said.
8:45 pm
Death toll surged to 87 as divers made intensive search operation inside the submerged hull, the Coast Guard said.
April 20
10:00 am
As of 10 am, 49 people have been confirmed dead and 174 rescued, leaving 253 passengers still missing.
8:20 am
Ten more bodies have been found Sunday while divers were conducting search operations for the ferry, which capsized off Jindo Island on Wednesday morning, the pan-government emergency management headquarters said.
5:35 am
At 5:35 am Sunday, one more body was retrieved from the cabin, and 15 minutes later, three more bodies were collected. Nine more bodies were retrieved from the hull from 7:40 to 8:02 am.
April 19
11:48 am
Divers retrieved three bodies from inside the hull of the submerged ship at 11:48 pm local time on Saturday, the first such recovery nearly four days after the ferry capsized off Jindo Island on Wednesday morning.
5:58 pm
An unidentified female passenger's body was discovered at 5:58 pm local time after another female body was found at 4:15 pm in waters some 100 meters away from the capsized passenger ferry, an official at the South Korean Coast Guard told reporters.
5:40 am
Three bodies were discovered at around 5:40 am on the fourth floor by private divers with the naked eye for the first time, three days after the passenger ferry capsized and sank off the Jindo Island near the southwestern tip of South Korea.
April 18
Around 7:30 pm
Arrest warrants were sought Friday for a captain and two sailors of the sunken South Korean ferry.
Around 6:30 pm
A vice principal of South Korea's Danwon High School, of which hundreds of students were still missing in a ferry disaster, was found dead Friday afternoon, local media reported.
2:30 pm
South Korean coast guard and navy divers succeeded Friday in entering into the hull of a sunken ferry. Death toll kept rising, with 28 people confirmed dead and 268 others still missing. The number of the rescued remained unchanged at 179.
2:05 pm
Chinese embassy confirms fourth Chinese national among missing passengers in South Korea shipwreck.
11:00 am
Third Chinese national was among the missing passengers aboard a South Korean ferry ship, which capsized off South Korea's southwest coast, the Chinese embassy said Friday.
April 17:
11:08 pm
A total of 25 people, including 12 students, two teachers and three crew members, have been confirmed dead, with 179 people rescued and 271 still missing after a South Korean ferry capsized, local media reported.
4:30 pm
The Chinese Foreign Ministry asked the Republic of Korea (ROK) to check the information of missing Chinese citizens in the ship disaster and find them as soon as possible.
1:44 pm
The Chinese embassy in Seoul confirmed that two Chinese citizens were on board.
About 11:00 am
A total of nine people, including a crew member, five high school students, two teachers and a passenger, have been confirmed dead, with 179 people rescued and 287 still missing.
About 9:00 am
Six people, including a crew member, four high school students and a teacher, were confirmed dead. Several minutes later, local media reported that one more high school student was found dead, sending the total death toll to seven and reducing the number of those missing to 289.
From 7:00 am
The Coast Guard resumed search operations into the hull together with navy divers. The US Seventh Fleet sent its amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard to the scene at the request of the South Korean military.
April 16:
5:00 pm
A team of South Korean Navy divers succeeded in entering the sunken vessel and searched three of its compartments, but found no bodies.
4:30 pm
A 22-year-old female crew member and a male high school student have been found dead, 293 others confirmed missing and 164 people rescued.
About 11:30 am
The ship was capsized and sank down into waters off the Jindo Island.
About 8:52 am
The Coast Guard received the first distress call from an estimated student passenger of the ship.
April 15
The ship departed from South Korea's western port city of Incheon, heading for the southern resort island of Jeju.
Source: Xinhua - Global Times
Web editor: wangnan1@globaltimes.com.cn