Death toll in South Korea ferry disaster soars as divers retrieve bodies from sinking vessel
The official death toll in the South Korea
ferry disaster has now risen to 58 after
divers retrieved more than a dozen bodies
from the sinking vessel.
The new toll came after recovery teams finally
succeeded in finding a way into the sinking
Sewol after being hampered for days by strong
currents, bad weather and low visibility.
Divers had been pumping air into the doomed
ship in the slim hope that survivors might still
be inside.
However, within the space of 24 hours, the
number of dead soared from 33 to 58 – with
some of the bodies being recovered from
outside of the ship.
It is feared the search and rescue operation
has now become the beginning of a grim
recovery effort to find the dead.
News of the death toll comes as a newly-
released transcript also reveals how the ship's
crew was crippled with confusion and
indecision well after the vessel began listing dangerously.
In the space of 30 minutes after the ship
began tilting, the Jindo Vessel Traffic Services
(VTS) was asked on three occasions whether
passengers would be rescued if the crew
abandoned ship off the southern coast of
South Korea.
This followed several statements from the ship
that it was 'impossible' for those trapped on
board to even move and that the crew was
unable to broadcast instructions.
Many people followed the captain's initial
order to stay below deck, where it is feared
they remain trapped.
Just 174 people are known to have survived
the sinking of the Sewol and about 240 are still
missing.
The boat had been on its way from the South
Korean port city of Incheon to the southern
island of Jeju.
Lee Joon-seok, the ship's 68-year-old captain,
was arrested yesterday along with one of the
Sewol's three helmsmen and the 25-year-old
third mate, on suspicion of negligence and
abandoning people in need.
The cause of the sinking is not yet known, but
prosecutors said the ship made a sharp turn
before it began to list.
