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South Korea Seeks Arrest Warrant for Captain of Ferry That Sank - Businessweek

Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:11 AM PDT

South Korean authorities are seeking an arrest warrant for the captain and two of the crew members of a ferry that sank this week.

A combined investigation team of police and prosecutors didn't reveal the charges it plans to make, said Park Jeang Il, a press official at Mokpo Coast Guard station, where the team is based. Captain Lee Joon Seok, 69, wasn't on the bridge at the time of the sinking and he had assigned the third navigation officer to steer the vessel, prosecutor Park Jae Uck told reporters.

"He may have returned to the wheelhouse as the ferry began tilting," the prosecutor said yesterday.

Investigators said they are probing whether the ferry, which is now entirely submerged, turned too quickly or abnormally. They declined to say what announcements were made as the ferry sank on April 16, or whether passengers were told to stay in their cabins. About 10 crew including the captain were being investigated over whether the crew made any mistakes, if they broke any rules related to cargo, and if the ship had any faults, the coast guard said in an earlier statement.

"It's not as though we didn't want to help," crew member Oh Young Seok, 57, said in an interview at a hospital in Mokpo, during a break from police questioning. "We know the rule. The rule is to help the old and the weak, pregnant women, then other passengers, and then we should leave when it appears all have left, and the captain should abandon ship last. But the vessel was tilting so fast we couldn't reach any lifeboats."

Coast guard official Park declined to say which two other crew members prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants for.

Two Announcements

Two announcements were given at around 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. calling on passengers to don life jackets and stay in their current location because the ferry was tilting, Oh said. The ferry first contacted authorities at 8:55 a.m. on April 16 to request coast guard assistance, according to an audio clip of the exchange issued by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

"Ship has listed a lot. Can't move. Please come quick," the ferry told the Vessel Traffic Services in Jeju, its destination.

"I did hear the announcement that we should stay put but I couldn't," Choi Chan Yeol, a 57-year-old chef, said in an interview yesterday at a hospital in Mokpo. Choi managed to escape by gripping a cord and pulling himself to the door of the restaurant hall. "It was scary as the ferry was tilting and water was filling up."

More than 600 divers have been hampered in their attempts to search the sunken vessel due to strong currents and bad visibility. Of the 476 people on board, 28 are known to have died and 174 rescued, leaving 274 people -- mostly students on a high school excursion -- unaccounted for. Authorities yesterday revised the number of people on board and lowered the total rescued from earlier statements.

Fading Hopes

There have been no survivors found since the day of the sinking, which occurred off the southwest corner of the Korean peninsula. The chance of finding survivors is "slim," the coast guard said.

Most of the missing passengers are from a group of 325 students and 14 teachers from Danwon High School, who were on an excursion to Jeju island. The school was closed yesterday, while hundreds of parents whose children remain unaccounted for are packed into a gymnasium on Jindo island, near the site of the sinking.

The school's vice principal Kang Min Kyu, who was on the ferry but survived, was found hanged behind the gymnasium yesterday, police official Lee Sung Hun told reporters. Lee didn't say it was a suicide, and no note was found at the scene.

Kim Han Shik, the 72-year-old chief executive officer of the ship's owner and operator Chonghaejin Marine Co., said his company has committed a "terrible sin." Kim was speaking at a press briefing at Incheon port April 17 that was broadcast on MBN TV.

'Time and Tide'

The ferry, named Sewol, or "time and tide" in Korean, listed and capsized in an area of the ocean as shallow as 20 meters (66 feet) in some parts, based on readings from a coast guard vessel used in the rescue operation. The ship was en route from Incheon to Jeju island, popular with tourists.

Bodies found yesterday all had life jackets on and weren't discovered inside the ferry. They may have been trapped under the vessel, the coast guard said.

"Divers are groping their way because visibility is so poor, 20-30 centimeters at best," coast guard official Ko Myung Suk told reporters.

The number of divers conducting operations increases every six hours as the current off Korea's southwest coast slows, according to notice boards at the situation room at Jindo county office. Each slowdown lasts about an hour. Floating cranes have also arrived at the site.

'Upside Down'

"Pulling the ferry up isn't going to be easy or smooth," Kim Jae In, a press officer at the West Regional Headquarters of Korea Coast Guard said in Mokpo. "It's completely upside down so if we move it wrong, it may tilt or sink further into the mud. This is something we cannot afford as lifesaving is our top priority, although we're holding onto a slim chance."

Authorities are considering using an oil tanker to attempt to slow down the current. Rescuers also pumping air into the ferry to "increase the odds of survival," the security ministry said in a statement.

In addition to the coast guard, 400 personnel from South Korea's navy, air force and army have been sent to the area to aid the search and rescue. Altogether, 632 divers are working in turns, with 173 ships and 29 helicopters and other aircraft supporting, the security ministry said.

South Korean President Park Geun Hye was met with angry shouts, shrieks and wailing when she visited parents of the missing students in Jindo on April 17.

'Every Effort'

"We will make every effort to rescue up to the last person," Park said as she stood on the gymnasium stage, flanked by officials at a meeting shown on YTN TV. Some people yelled insults, while others demanded a live broadcast of rescue operations, a full list of people who were on board, and an increase in the number of divers assigned to the search.

The government has provided live footage of the rescue process for families in Jindo, while the police are taking steps to prevent rumors spreading through social media sites, the security ministry said in a statement. Korean media reports that hoax messages purporting to be from people trapped on the ferry have been posted on the Internet.

The accident may be Korea's worst since 1970, when the sinking of the 'Namyoung' ferry killed 323 people, according to the General Insurance Association of Korea. The 'Seohae' ferry sank in 1993, killing 292, according to the Korea Maritime University.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cynthia Kim in Seoul at ckim170@bloomberg.net; Sam Kim in Seoul at skim609@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brian Fowler at bfowler4@bloomberg.net Stuart Biggs, Kevin Costelloe

Climbing Mount Everest: what you need to know - Telegraph.co.uk

Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:05 AM PDT

• It's also getting safer. Better equipment and modern weather forecasting are credited with improving fatality rates.

• Around 250 people have died in pursuit of Everest's peak. The "death zone" begins at 8,000 metres high, where oxygen levels significantly fall and conditions become increasingly harsh.

• Avalanches are particularly deadly. It was an avalanche that killed 12 sherpa guides in the latest incident, just as it was another that killed four people in October 2013, and another that claimed nine lives the year before.

^{Tashi Sherpa lies on a hospital bed after he was rescued and airlifted from the avalanche site at Mount Everest (REUTERS)}

• There are too many people trying to climb Everest. Until 1985, Nepal allowed only one expedition on each route to the summit at a time. But no such strictures exist today, and 658 climbers made the summit in 2013.

• Nepal has announced it will introduce new restrictions for aspiring conquerors of Everest, and is even toying with the idea of placing ladders on Hillary's step.

• Such action is being taken to reduce the number of queues like this one. Ralf Dujmovits, the mountaineer who took the photograph, said: "My deep hope was that the number of climbers on Everest would be reduced. But I fear that I've made Everest more popular with this picture."

• The overcrowding has been dangerous, with a South Korean man suffering snow blindness, delirium and hypothermia as he waited four hours for more than 300 climbers to pass.

• The sweet spot for Everest climbing occurs for roughly fortnight in the spring, with 70 per cent of 2013's climbs taking place between May 13 and 22.

• Littering is a big problem on Everest. So much so that new rules state that groups must return to base camp with eight kilogrammes of rubbish for each team member or they will forfeit their deposit of over £2000.

• Climbing Everest is getting cheaper. Where it used to cost £15,000 to scale the summit during peak season, it now costs £6,500.

• And if you fancy yourself a pro, then pay a reduced rate of £1,500 for an off-season pass.

• In 2013, there was a hundred person brawl at 23,000 feet during which three European mountaineers were told by a group of around 100 sherpas: "Now we kill you." They later complained of the disrespect shown to sherpas by their wealthy clients.

• Some people have even conquered Everest despite a physical handicap. Blind climber Erik Weihenmayer reached the peak in 2001, and armless man Sudarshan Gautam did it in 2013.

• Use this interactive image of Everest and the surrounding area to see the trail, the camps, the people and the wonderful sights.

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Jumaat, 18 April 2014