[영어뉴스] Sewol-ho ferry disaster : Day 14

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Sewol-ho ferry disaster : Day 14

Exactly two weeks have passed since the ill-fated Sewol-ho ferry packed with hundreds of mostly young passengers left Incheon bound for Jeju Island.
The country is still in a deep sense of sorrow with one-hundred-eighty-nine people now confirmed dead and one-hundred-thirteen others unacccounted for, but presumed dead.
For the latest, let's connect with our Shin Se-min at the news center,...
Se-min, it's been raining for almost two days straight down at the accident site... how has this affected the search-and-rescue operation?

Yes Mark,... 1-hundred-89 is the official death toll as of now,... but one local media outlet YTN is reporting that four more bodies have been recovered over night,... but nothing official yet,... but will keep you updated.
It was a slow and harsh day for the search-and-rescue operation team on Monday,... as the weather and sea conditions were far from favorable.
Heavy rain, high tides, fast currents and fog were troubling factors,... slowing the rescue operation.
The rain is expected to cease sometime this morning,... but the sea conditions will get tougher with currents forecast to reach the speeds of 2-point-4 meters per second.
In terms of the search operation,... a diving bell is expected to be put in Tuesday morning.
This will allow divers to continue their underwater search for up to 20 consecutive hours.
So far,... around one-hundred-11 cabins have been searched.
The divers mainly focused on searching the fourth floor of the ferry,... where most of the missing passengers are believed to be, and where they also found that body Monday.

And authorities released a new video that shows the first moments of the rescue process,... what did that tell us?

The video released by the maritime police shows crucial moments,... of how the first minutes of the rescue efforts were carried out,... also showing that the captain and the crew member were among the first to get off the sinking ferry.
Now,... the video was taken between 9:43 a.m. and 9:49 a.m. by one of the rescue team dispatched for rescue.
This footage CLEARLY shows captain Lee Joon-seok and his crew leaving the ferry without attending to passengers.
It's difficult to distinguish him as the captain,.... as Lee jumps into the rescue boat in his boxer shorts WITHOUT his uniform on.
By 9:35 a.m., all 15 crew members have started to abandon their ship,... but as you can see hardly any passengers are seen on the deck of the ferry, raising criticism the crew didn't properly instruct them to leave the ship.
Kim Kyung-il , a Mokpo coast guard official, was one of the first to arrive at the site, and explained what he saw at a press briefing on Monday.


"My team tried to get inside the vessel,... into the broadcasting booth to tell the passengers to get out of the vessel. But we weren't able. The vessel was listing 40 to 50 degrees... and there were people in the freezing water."

What about the criminal investigations that are ongoing at this moment,... what do we know so far?

Yes, there are a number of investigations underway.
Investigators have been looking into the practical owner of the ferry company, Yoo Byung-eon .
Prosecutors raided four offices in Seoul, Daegu and in Gyeonggi-do Province on Monday looking for evidence of paper companies.
They also raided the Mokpo Coast Guart Station,... suspecting officers there neglected their duties in the early stages of the rescue.
Also three members of the Korea Shipping Association have been arrested, for destroying evidence in relation to the case.
Investigations into whether the ferry had malfunctioning life boats on board will also broaden,... as five life boats were found floating near the scene,.. indicating they began to work MUCH later than they should have.
A functioning life boat would automatically deploy upon coming under external pressure.
That's all I have for now,.. but I will keep you updated throughout the day.