After the capsizing of a ferry with about 470 people on board off the southwest coast of South Korea significantly more people are missing as initially known. Initially there was two dead and about a hundred missing the speech, now the authorities have, however, the number of revised upwards: According to Coast Guard the fate of more than 300 people is unclear.
The South Korean government is going after a report by the Yonhap news agency meanwhile about 290 missing out. Previously there had been error in the count, it said.
The ferry “Sewol” with a total of 477 people on board was on the way to the southern island of Jeju, as her crew at 9 clock local time (2 clock CEST) settled a distress signal. The ship capsized and sank almost completely within a few hours. Among the passengers were more than 300 students. They should, according to Reuters attend a high school in the capital Seoul and have been traveling on a trip to Jeju.
South Korea Ferry Disaster:Warning via onboard speaker
According to a report by the “Korea Herald” first rescuers were half an hour after the emergency signal on site. The strong current had hampered the work of the helper. Many passengers jumped into the water, according to the Journal, after having been warned about onboard speaker before the complete sinking of the ferry. The Coast Guard is concerned that many passengers and crew members are still trapped in the hull of the ship.
“We have been searching the radius of five kilometers for survivors, but found no one there,” citing the “Koea Herald” a member of the rescue workers. In view of water temperature and depth, and the time that had elapsed since the accident, the workers consider it unlikely that there were still survivors in the wreckage. The sea is supposed to be about 45 feet deep at the site of the sinking.
What caused the accident, is still unknown. However, experts suspected the ship might have gone on a rock. He had heard a “strong throbbing noise” before the ship had stopped, said a passenger by phone the cable channel YTN.
South Korea Ferry Disaster:”I thought: I want to live”
Photos from the accident site showed drenched and wrapped in towels school children who are cared for by rescue teams. A student who had been brought to the shore of a nearby island, YTN said he was bound with other young people into the sea and swam to a lifeboat. “The ferry swayed and tilted, we all stumbled and butted against each other,” he said. After his leap from aboard the water was very cold. “I swam fast,” said the students. “I thought: I want to live.”
The water temperature in the area is around 12 degrees Celsius. News Agency, a ship of the U.S. Navy is to participate in the rescue operation, according to Reuters.
In the “Sewol” is a passenger and car ferry with 146 meters in length. It is designed for 900 passengers and 130 cars According to Reuters, it was built in Japan in 1994.
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