Tragedy strikes again overseas.
It’s heartbreaking when people go missing, and even more so when they are our innocent children & loved ones. As we still try to wrap our minds around the Malaysian plane tragedy, Wednesday we were forced to deal with yet another deadly accident, this time in South Korea.
April 16th will forever be remembered as the day almost 300 lives were presumed lost when Sewol-a 480-foot vessel- capsized into the Yellow Sea with around 459 people on board. Most of the passengers missing are said to be high school students who were excited to be getting away from school as they traveled to the island of Jeju.
The details of the accident are heart wrenching, and as more information is given to the public, many questions have arised. Though 174 people were saved that day, the people still aboard were trapped inside once the ferry tilted, after being told not to move & to stay where they were- even as water began to fill up the ship. Several sources have gone back & forth stating that the crew attempted to get people out, though survivors are saying otherwise.
The captain, Lee Joon-seok abandoned those on the ship when it started sinking, along with helmsman Cho Joon-ki. Prosecutors have confirmed that the ferry was steered by mate Park Han-kyul at the time of the accident. Park Han-kyul, 25, was not familiar with the area, & took an unexpected turn against the fast currents. The three hung their heads in shame as they were arrested on several counts of negligence & abandonment.
As of Sunday, 59 people have been confirmed dead, as search crews continued to pull bodies out of the water. Families of the victims succumbed to an extreme amount of distress as their loved ones were returned to land, with their screams becoming louder & more unbearable with each passing minute. Unfortunately, more than 250 people are still missing, so the scene will likely repeat itself over the next few days.
Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims at this time.
-Kairi C. (@_findingforever)
