On Apr 18 divers penetrated the wreck of the "Sewol". South Korean Coastguard and navy divers, who entered into the hull of the ferry have since withdrawn from the submerged ship as the entrance into cabins was jammed with too many goods. Two divers made their way into compartments on the second floor of the five-story ferry at 3.38 p.m. local time for the first time.
The divers withdrew from the hull 14 minutes after going near the gate of the freight compartment as too many goods blocked the entrance into the cabin.
A guideline connected with the vessel's exterior broke. Possible survivors were believed to be trapped on the third and fourth floors where divers can reach only after completing the work of pumping air into the first and second floors. Maritime police and military divers tried 20 times overnight to make their way into the submerged hull, but they failed due to rapid currents, low underwater visibility and high waves.
20 divers have begun to try and enter the third floor of the vessel since about two hours ago. Navy soldiers fixed floats at the wreck in order to stabilize it, but at noon the wreck had completely submerged.
Oxygene was pumped inside in an attempt to create air pockets. The country’s coast guard said four cranes–with lifting capacities of 3,350 tons, 3,200 tons, 2,000 tons and 1,000 tons, respectively–arrived in the area off the southwestern island of Jindo on Apr 18. A fifth 8,000-ton crane would join them Apr 20. Meanwhile 28 bodies were recovered, four of them were Chinese.
179 have been rescued and 268 are missing. The vice-principal of the high school who accompanied hundreds of pupils on the ferry trip has committed suicide, police said on Apr 18, as hopes faded of finding any of the 268 missing passengers alive.
Kang Min-gyu, 52, had been missing since Apr 17. He appeared to have hanged himself with his belt from a tree outside a gym in the port city of Jindo where relatives of the people missing on the ship, mostly children from the school, were gathered. South Korean prosecutors sought arrest warrants on Apr 18 for the captain Lee Joon-Seok and two crew members of the ferry.
The request was submitted to the local court. The captain and most of his 28 crew managed to escape the ferry, and have been criticised for abandoning the ship when so many were still trapped on board.
Tracking data from the Maritime Ministry showed the ferry made a sharp turn just before sending its first distress Signal. Preliminary investigations showed that captain had handed the helm to his third officer before the ferry capsized.
Lee apologised on Apr 17 to the victims and their relatives. While it was unclear where the captain was before the accident, right afterward he rushed back into the steering house ahead of Oh Young-seok, one of the helmsmen on the ship, who was off duty and resting at the time. He calmly asked by how much the ship was tilted, and tried to re-balance the ship.
Handing over the helm is normal practice on the voyage from Incheon to Jeju that usually takes 13.5 hours. Marine investigators and the coastguard said it was too early to pinpoint a cause for the accident and declined to comment on the possibility of the cargo shifting. The record of the ferry owner was also under investigation and documents were removed from its headquarters in Incheon.
The divers withdrew from the hull 14 minutes after going near the gate of the freight compartment as too many goods blocked the entrance into the cabin.
A guideline connected with the vessel's exterior broke. Possible survivors were believed to be trapped on the third and fourth floors where divers can reach only after completing the work of pumping air into the first and second floors. Maritime police and military divers tried 20 times overnight to make their way into the submerged hull, but they failed due to rapid currents, low underwater visibility and high waves.
20 divers have begun to try and enter the third floor of the vessel since about two hours ago. Navy soldiers fixed floats at the wreck in order to stabilize it, but at noon the wreck had completely submerged.
Oxygene was pumped inside in an attempt to create air pockets. The country’s coast guard said four cranes–with lifting capacities of 3,350 tons, 3,200 tons, 2,000 tons and 1,000 tons, respectively–arrived in the area off the southwestern island of Jindo on Apr 18. A fifth 8,000-ton crane would join them Apr 20. Meanwhile 28 bodies were recovered, four of them were Chinese.
179 have been rescued and 268 are missing. The vice-principal of the high school who accompanied hundreds of pupils on the ferry trip has committed suicide, police said on Apr 18, as hopes faded of finding any of the 268 missing passengers alive.
Kang Min-gyu, 52, had been missing since Apr 17. He appeared to have hanged himself with his belt from a tree outside a gym in the port city of Jindo where relatives of the people missing on the ship, mostly children from the school, were gathered. South Korean prosecutors sought arrest warrants on Apr 18 for the captain Lee Joon-Seok and two crew members of the ferry.
The request was submitted to the local court. The captain and most of his 28 crew managed to escape the ferry, and have been criticised for abandoning the ship when so many were still trapped on board.
Tracking data from the Maritime Ministry showed the ferry made a sharp turn just before sending its first distress Signal. Preliminary investigations showed that captain had handed the helm to his third officer before the ferry capsized.
Lee apologised on Apr 17 to the victims and their relatives. While it was unclear where the captain was before the accident, right afterward he rushed back into the steering house ahead of Oh Young-seok, one of the helmsmen on the ship, who was off duty and resting at the time. He calmly asked by how much the ship was tilted, and tried to re-balance the ship.
Handing over the helm is normal practice on the voyage from Incheon to Jeju that usually takes 13.5 hours. Marine investigators and the coastguard said it was too early to pinpoint a cause for the accident and declined to comment on the possibility of the cargo shifting. The record of the ferry owner was also under investigation and documents were removed from its headquarters in Incheon.