20 Apr 2014

Families protest over rescue operation

8:10 pm on 20 April 2014

Families of passengers on a sunken South Korean ferry have protested angrily over the rescue operation.

Police stopped up to 100 people trying to leave Jindo island intending to march to the country's capital, Seoul.

After more than three days, divers have now finally entered the ferry, retrieving 22 bodies and bringing the death toll to 54.

However, another 248 people are still missing from the Sewol ferry, which sank on Wednesday.

The BBC reports some 174 passengers were rescued.

Since the capsize, many of the relatives of those on board have been on Jindo, in the south-west of the country.

Hundreds have been camping at a gymnasium on the island, awaiting news from the rescue operation.

Relatives of missing passengers struggle with police officers while trying to protest the government's rescue operation.

Relatives of missing passengers struggle with police officers while trying to protest the government's rescue operation. Photo: AFP

Scuffles broke out when some family members tried to cross a bridge to the mainland, reportedly to march on the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, some 420km to the north.

"Bring me the body so that I can see the face and hug my child," shouted one woman.

Lee Woon-geun, father of missing passenger Lee Jung-in, 17, said: "We want an answer from the person in charge about why orders are not going through and nothing is being done. They are clearly lying and kicking the responsibility to others."

Relatives are anxious for the bodies to be retrieved before they decompose.

Rescue workers moving the body of one of the victims.

Rescue workers moving the body of one of the victims. Photo: AFP

About 200 ships, 34 aircraft and 600 divers have been taking part in the search operation. Squid fishing boats with powerful lights have been brought in to help the divers operate at night. But the currents are still strong and the visibility remains challenging.

Coastguard official Koh Myung-seok told a briefing that divers had discovered a number of routes into the ferry, and found bodies in different locations.

Two of the cranes at buoys marking the location of the sunken ferry.

Two of the cranes at buoys marking the location of the sunken ferry. Photo: AFP

The captain and two other crew members are in custody and have been charged with negligence of duty and violation of maritime law.

Officials said on Saturday that the ferry was being steered by an inexperienced third mate in unfamiliar waters when it sank.

The captain of the ferry, Lee Joon-seok, was not initially on the bridge when the ship ran into trouble.

The Sewol, carrying 476 passengers and crew, capsized during a journey from the port of Incheon in the north-west to the southern holiday island of Jeju.