Tragedy at Sea

In what might be the worst civilian maritime tragedy in Koreas history, a passenger ferry carrying over 400 people from Incheon to Jeju-do sank, for reasons as yet unknown.

The BBC covers it in detail here.

This is tragic for so many reasons. First off, twenty-four hours after the ship went down there are still 290 people, almost all High School students, unaccounted for. In those cold waters on a sinking ship, the rescue ships are really working against the clock and are really hoping for a miracle. If one were to find a blessing, it would have to be that the ship was only about half full. It can carry 900 people plus crew at full capacity.

There are a few oddities to this story:

-What happened to the ship? This is a busy waterway and it seems unlikely that they hit a rock.

-The passengers were told to sit and remain calm even as the ship was at a 45 degree angle and filling with water. Korean safety standards are rarely what they would be in the west but that just seems totally unacceptable. Though that may answer the next question.

-The ship sank in two hours. Very fast all things considered but still ample time to evacuate.

I guess answers will arrive in the next few days, but for now people are just hoping for the best.