Concerns are growing among anguished families that the bodies of those who died in the sinking of a South Korean ferry may never be found, as search teams suspended work yesterday because of bad weather.
A looming storm and high tides put a temporary halt to operations to recover the remains of more than 100 people still missing more than a week after the huge ferry capsized.
“Over the weekend, strong wind and rain is expected in the Jindo area,” a coast guard spokesman told journalists.
Photo: Reuters
“As efforts to find the missing people are becoming protracted, there are growing concerns among their families that bodies might be lost for good,” he said.
The confirmed death toll stood yesterday at 187, with 115 unaccounted for — many bodies are believed trapped in the ferry that capsized on April 16 with 476 people on board.
Making up the bulk of the passengers on the 6,825-tonne Sewol when it sank were 325 high-school students — about 250 of whom are either confirmed or presumed dead.
Although all hope of finding survivors has been extinguished, there is still anger and deep frustration among relatives of the missing about the pace of the recovery operation.
Frogmen have battled strong currents, poor visibility and blockages caused by floating furniture as they have tried to get inside the upturned vessel, which rests on a silty seabed.
They are coming across horrifying scenes in the murky water, including one dormitory room — that would normally have held about 31 people — packed with the bodies of 48 students wearing life jackets.
About a quarter of the 187 bodies recovered so far have been found in waters outside the sunken vessel, and there are fears that some of the missing may have drifted free from the wreck.
South Korean authorities — wary of the palpable anger among relatives — have mobilized eight trawlers and installed 13km nets anchored to the seabed across the Maenggol sea channel to prevent the dead being swept into the open ocean.
Also, the South Korean government on Friday conceded that some bodies have been misidentified and announced changes to prevent such mistakes from happening again.
There have been several reports in South Korean media this week of bodies going to the wrong families, with the error sometimes caught only after the remains were taken to a funeral home.
An “action plan” released by the government-wide emergency task force acknowledged that “there have been cases where the victims were wrongly transferred.”
Remains will be transferred to families when there is a match using DNA testing or fingerprint or dental records, the task force said. The transfer will be temporary when a body is matched though identification or physical description, and South Korean authorities will wait for more authoritative evidence before making the transfer permanent.
Furious families demanded a meeting with Korea Coast Guard Deputy Commissioner Choi Sang-hwan near the pier in Jindo Port, urging him to send the divers back into the water.
“We are waiting for the right moment, as conditions in the sea are not favorable,” Choi said.
Many relatives believe some of the victims may have survived for several days in trapped air pockets, but perished in the cold water after no rescue came.
As a result, some have asked for autopsies to be performed, to see if it would be possible to determine the precise cause and time of death.
Sewol captain Lee Joon-seok and 14 crew members have been arrested on charges ranging from criminal negligence to abandoning passengers.
As part of their widening investigation, prosecutors issued travel bans on Friday on eight current and former executives of the Korea Register of Shipping — the body responsible for issuing marine safety certificates.
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