Lee Jun-seok, the captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized in April and left more than 300 people—mostly teenage students—dead, was sentenced to 36 years in prison for abandoning the vessel during evacuation. He was acquitted of murder, for which prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.
A badly decomposed body found surrounded by liquor bottles found last month was identified as that of Yoo Byung-Eun, the billionaire owner of the doomed Sewol ferry.
Today marked the opening of court proceedings for 15 crew members from the Sewol, the South Korean ferry that sank off the country's southwestern coast in April, killing more than 300 people. According to Reuters, the captain entered the courtroom to a shout of "murderer!"
In her first public address since the Sewol ferry sank off the southern coast of South Korea last month, South Korean President Park Geun-hye vowed to disband the country's coast guard, whose poor oversight has been blamed for the incident's high death toll. From the Associated Press:
The captain of the sunken South Korean ferry and three of his crew members were charged with homicide on Thursday. If convicted, all four could face could face the death penalty.
Adding on to the already devastating tragedy of the Sewol ferry that sunk off South Korea in April, a South Korean civilian diver who was searching for missing people has died after becoming unconscious on a search today. He was 53.
Unlike the situation aboard, say, a lost plane, the death rate on a sinking ferry varies considerably from disaster to disaster.
On Thursday, the father of a 17-year-old victim released video, captured on his son's cell phone, showing the last moments of several teenagers aboard the Sewol, the South Korean ferry that sank last month.
On Friday, divers searching the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol discovered the bodies of 48 girls crammed into a cabin designed to hold just 38. Authorities believe the girls—all of whom were wearing life jackets—may have been following orders when they packed into the room and then became trapped as the boat tilted…
After a ferry sank off South Korea last week, leaving over 266 missing and 36 confirmed dead, an arrest warrant was put out for the ferry's captain, Lee Joon-seok. He and a helmsman, as well as a rookie third mate, were taken into custody this afternoon.
At least six people are dead and 292 remain missing after a ferry carrying mostly high school students capsized off the southern coast of South Korea on Wednesday. Dozens of rescue ships and aircrafts continue to search for survivors, though officials say the death toll is likely to rise drastically.
