Hundreds Missing After South Korean Ferry Sinks
Divers Search Sunken Ferry The vessel was carrying 477 passengers and crew, including 325 high school students.
By CHOE SANG-HUN
SEOUL, South Korea — Nearly 300 people, most of them students, remained unaccounted for Wednesday as coast guard and navy divers continued to search a ferry that sank hours earlier off the southwestern tip of South Korea.
By mid-evening, four people were confirmed dead, including a high school student and a member of the ferry’s crew. But fears that the sinking could become one of the worst peacetime disasters in the country increased as rescued passengers told news outlets that they believed many people had been trapped below deck Wednesday morning.
Lee Gyeong-og, vice minister of security and public administration, said that 160 navy and coast guard divers were working at the scene, but that their operations were hampered by rapid currents and poor underwater visibility.
Among the passengers were 325 students from Danwon High School in Ansan, south of Seoul. So far, 78 of them are known to have been rescued. The students were on an overnight voyage to Jeju, a popular resort island, where they had been scheduled to arrive Wednesday morning for a four-day field trip and sightseeing.
The Ministry of Security and Public Administration reported that a total of 164 passengers and crew members were known to have been rescued; given the known deaths, that left 291 of the 459 people on the ferry unaccounted for.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear. The South Korean news media cited unidentified passengers as saying that the ship had begun leaning severely after a loud impact. The ship later capsized and sank, with only its tip protruding from the water.
Mr. Lee of the security ministry declined to comment on the likelihood of finding more survivors. But a sharp increase in the death toll was feared as ships, helicopters and divers expanded their search, with no immediate results. Divers were trying to make their way into chambers of the ship where passengers were reported to have been trapped.
The ship’s departure from Incheon on Tuesday evening was delayed by two hours because of heavy fog off the west coast of South Korea, officials said. The ship was also carrying 150 cars and trucks, below the capacity of 180.
Excrept from New York Times
My note: it is with deepest sorrow that I am posting this news. Words cannot express the shock at this sad and painful news. I am just stunned and pray for the safety of the passengers and my heart goes to the families. May God keep keep them safe Amen
Please pray for them