South Korea Ferry Disaster

On 16 April 2014 a ferry heading to Jeju in South Korea capsized with more than 450 on board, most of the passengers were high school students on a school trip.

Disaster

A distress call was sent when the ferry began taking on water with ships and helicopters dispatched to rescue those on the sinking vessel. However by the time rescue arrived most were trapped inside. While initial reports had 4 dead and 284 missing the numbers would soon change for the worse.

Calls to evacuate came late with the captain claiming he delayed the evacuation orders due to the cold water and fear people would be swept away. During the ordeal frantic messages were sent by passengers on board to loved ones with one student managing to text his mother "I love you"

From Rescue to Recovery

The search for survivors continued but soon the rescue mission turned to recovery. The ferry had completely submerged and large cranes were called in to help stabilize the ship.

Divers were sent in to search the sunken vessel for bodies with the death toll rising as each day passed. The body of the boy who made the first distress call has since been recovered.

A memorial was held at the Ansan Olympic Memorial Museum with yellow and green flowers surrounding 47 photo's of teachers and students who's bodies had been identified after recovery. Tributes in Korean schools have left empty spaces for those whose bodies had still not been recovered.

While recovery efforts continued, angry relatives have clashed with police as more bodies have been found. Relatives of those lost have confronted South Korean Minister and Coast Guard Chief claiming they lied about rescue efforts.

Responsibility

Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for the captain after it was claimed he and 5 other crew fled on a life boat leaving the ships third mate in charge of the sinking vessel. The ferry captain and 2 others were arrested with the captain being charged with negligence. Later 4 more crew were arrested.

The captain was later slammed by South Korean President Park Geun-hye who called the captains actions "tantamount to murder" The captain has since apologized to the South Korean public for "causing a disturbance" and said "I bow my head in apology to the families of the victims"

Questions have also been raised regarding the evacuation of the ferry with confusion regarding the initial orders to evacuate. As investigations into the disaster continued a litany of errors have been discovered.