By
Rebecca Gibson |
Rescue officials have recovered more than 108 bodies from the stricken Sewol ferry, which sank near to Byungpoong island of the south-west coast of South Korea on 16 April.
Improved weather and sea conditions have enabled divers to reach many of the cabins in the ferry’s upturned hull, but they have not yet been able to gain access to the ship’s restaurant, which is believed to be where many of the passengers were trapped. More than 190 of the 476 passengers who were sailing on the vessel when she sank on 16 April are still missing or presumed trapped inside the sunken ship.
On 22 April, the South Korean government released a timeline of the ferry’s movements, indicating that the vessel made a scheduled turn en route to Jeju at 8.49am on 16 April. Within one minute the ferry had begun to list and by 8.55am it had drifted back on itself and was keeling to port. Reports estimate that the ferry was fully submerged within two hours.
Witness accounts suggest that as the ship listed, passengers were told to remain in public areas and cabins amid confusion on the bridge over whether to order them to abandon ship. Coastguard officials told Reuters that the first distress call was made by one of the 325 school pupils from Danwon High School, who were travelling to Jeju island as part of a school trip with around 15 teachers. His call was followed by about 20 other emergency calls from children onboard the ship.
While it is still unclear what caused the incident, authorities are investigating whether the ferry was destabilised as it was turned too sharply before it began to list, as well as whether an earlier evacuation order could have saved lives.
Prosecutors claim that a third mate who had never navigated the waters near to Jeju island was at the helm when the ferry began listing, while Captain Lee Joon-seok was absent from the bridge. The captain and at least two other crew members have been charged with negligence of duty and violation of maritime law, while six more have been detained. Around seven of the 30 crew members sailing on the ferry are still missing.
On 20 April, South Korea’s coastguard released a transcript of the last communications between the crew and controllers, in which a crew member repeatedly asks if vessels will rescue passengers if an evacuation was ordered. During the conversation the controller asked the crew member to “let the passengers wear life jackets” and “make them escape”, before explaining that “the captain should make the final decision” whether the passengers should be evacuated because the coastguards did not “know the situation very well.”
Sewol’s captain has since said he delayed the move for fear people would drift away. South Korean media outlets have also quoted a crew member who said that attempts to launch lifeboats were unsuccessful because of the tilt of the ship, which meant that only two of the ferry’s 46 lifeboats were deployed.
Speaking to aides and party officials, South Korean president Park Geun-hye has condemned the conduct of some of the crew, saying that the actions of the captain and some of the crew “were utterly incomprehensible, unacceptable and tantamount to murder.”
Park, whose government has faced criticism over its initial response to the disaster, also said: “The captain did not comply with passenger evacuation orders from the vessel traffic service... and escaped ahead of others while telling passengers to keep their seats. This is something that is never imaginable legally or ethically.”
She also added that those who had “abandoned their responsibilities” would be held to account regardless of rank.
Rescue divers are expected to continue their search for a further two days, before Korean officials begin a salvage operation using an underwater robot to bring the ship’s sunken hull to the surface.