South Korean Ferry Death Toll Tops 150

World | April 23, 2014, Wednesday // 15:14
Bulgaria: South Korean Ferry Death Toll Tops 150 A father mourns his child, a victim of the Sewol ferry accident, at a joint incense-burning altar set up at Ansan Olympic Memorial Hall in Ansan, south of Seoul. Photo: EPA/BGNES

The number of victims of the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol passed 150 and is expected to rise, as divers found new entries to the submerged levels. 

Dozens of bodies recovered on Tuesday and 28 the day before. Over a hundred passengers remain missing.

Meanwhile, South Korean authorities broadened their investigation on Monday as they arrested four additional crew members and barred the family who owns the ferry’s operating company from leaving the country.

“The measure is to question them and hold them responsible for the poor management of the vessel,” a prosecution official told the nation’s Yonhap News Agency.

An extra deck was added to the 20-year-old ferry after the company acquired it in 2012, raising questions about how well balanced the modifications made it.

The ferry’s captain and two crew members have already been charged with negligence of duty and violating maritime law after abandoning the ship without efficiently helping passengers, an act labeled “unforgivable” and “murderous” by President Park Geun-hye on Monday.

According to the Korea Herald, the captain is likely to face a life sentence in prison. 

Not all crew members are accused of wrongdoing, though.

Some reportedly gave their life jackets to passengers, and one woman refused to leave before helping students off the ship. She was later found dead, becoming one of at least seven crew members who lost their lives or are still missing.

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Tags: Sewol, South Korea, victims

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