South Korea's president
apologized Tuesday for the government's inept initial response to a deadly
ferry sinking as divers fought strong currents in their search for more than
100 passengers still missing nearly two weeks after the accident.
The government also raised the
death toll for what has become a point of national mourning and shame to 193.
Most of the dead and missing are high
school students.
Divers are largely using their
hands to feel for remaining bodies as they make their way through a maze of
dark cabins, stairwells, storage rooms, lounges and restaurants in the
submerged ferry, which flipped upside down as it sank April 16. But they must
fight strong currents swirling around the ferry and, once inside, overturned
furniture, mattresses and other debris floating in the murky, sediment-heavy
waters.
President Park Geun-hye's
apology, and the earlier resignation of her prime minister, comes amid rising
indignation over claims by the victims' relatives that the government did not
do enough to rescue or protect their loved ones.
Park said at a Cabinet meeting at
the presidential Blue House that South Korea has "lost many precious lives
because of the accident, and I am sorry to the public and am
heavy-hearted." She says the government couldn't prevent the accident and
"the initial response and remedy were insufficient."
Park had earlier visited a
memorial set up in Ansan, the city near Seoul where the high school students
are from, to pay her respects to victims. Wearing a black dress and white gloves,
she laid flowers at an altar and bowed her head. According to local media, some
angry family members of victims shouted at her and demanded an apology. She
listened to them for 10 minutes before leaving.
Investigators, meanwhile, are
expanding their probe into both the cause of the ship's sinking and the initial
response by emergency workers. Prosecutors are also analyzing calls exchanged
between crew members of the sunken ferry and the offices of the owner,
Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd., senior prosecutor Ahn Sang-don said Tuesday.
Multiple crew members on the
sinking ferry communicated about seven times by phone with the owner's offices,
Ahn said. The first call to the owner was placed at 9:01 a.m. on April 16, just
6 minutes after the ferry reported a distress call to a vessel traffic services
center. The last call by a crew member to the employer was made around 9:40
a.m.
South Korean media reports said
the captain of the sinking ferry was seeking approval from the CEO of
Chonghaejin to be able to evacuate the ship, but Ahn said investigators are
still looking into why the calls were made.
Crew members initially asked
passengers to stay put and wear life jackets. It is unclear whether an
evacuation order was relayed to passengers, although crew members interviewed
by The Associated Press said the captain sent an evacuation order.
Of the 475 people believed to
have been aboard at the time of the sinking, only 174 people survived,
including 22 of the 29 crew members.
The government is making initial
plans to eventually salvage the ferry but has indicated it won't do so until
search efforts end.
All 15 crew members responsible
for the ship's navigation have been arrested, but they haven't been formally
charged yet because investigations are still going on. Prosecutors say they
were negligent and failed to help passengers in need.
Capt. Lee Joon-seok initially
told passengers to stay in their rooms and took half an hour to issue an
evacuation order, by which time the ship was tilting too severely for many
people to get out. Lee told reporters after his arrest that he withheld the
evacuation order because rescuers had yet to arrive and he feared for
passengers' safety in the cold, swift water.
Senior prosecutor Yang Jung-jin
said that the cause of the sinking could be due to excessive veering, improper
stowage of cargo, modifications made to the ship and tidal influence. He said
investigators would determine the cause by consulting with experts and using
simulations.
Chapisha Maoni