Confusion during Korea ferry evacuation likely added to death toll

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Monday that the captain and some crew members of the sunken ferry committed "unforgivable, murderous behavior" in the disaster, which left more than 300 people dead or missing.

A transcript released Sunday shows communications with the crew of the South Korean ferry that sank were hampered by confusion and indecision well after the boat began listing dangerously — a situation that possibly contributed to a death toll that is officially at 64, but could eventually exceed 300. 

Park said at a Cabinet briefing, "What the captain and part of the crew did is unfathomable from the viewpoint of common sense, unforgivable, murderous behavior." The comments were posted on the website of the presidential Blue House.

Park said instead of following a marine traffic controller's instructions to "make the passengers escape," the captain "told the passengers to stay put while they themselves became the first to escape."

"Legally and ethically," she said, "this is an unimaginable act."

Three times in succession, and about half an hour after the ferry Sewol began tilting on Wednesday, a crew member asked Jindo Vessel Traffic Services Center (VTS) whether passengers would be rescued if they abandoned ship off South Korea's southern coast. That followed several statements from the ship that it was impossible for people aboard to even move, and another in which it said it was "impossible to broadcast" instructions.

Many people followed the captain's initial order to stay below deck, where it is feared they remain trapped. About 240 people are still missing.

"Even if it's impossible to broadcast, please go out and let the passengers wear life jackets and put on more clothing," an unidentified VTS official urged at 9:24 a.m. local time, 29 minutes after the Sewol first reported trouble, according to the transcript, released by South Korea's coast guard.

"If this ferry evacuates passengers, will you be able to rescue them?" the unidentified crew member asked.

"At least make them wear life rings and make them escape!" the VTS official responded.

"If this ferry evacuates passengers, will they be rescued right away?" the crew member asked again.

"Don't let them go bare — at least make them wear life rings and make them escape!" the VTS official repeated. "The rescue of human lives from the Sewol ferry ... the captain should make his own decision and evacuate them. We don't know the situation very well. The captain should make the final decision and decide whether you're going to evacuate passengers or not."

"I'm not talking about that," the crew member said. "I asked, if they evacuate now, can they be rescued right away?"

The VTS official then said patrol boats would arrive in 10 minutes, though another civilian ship was already nearby and had told VTS 10 minutes earlier that it would rescue anyone who went overboard.

Only 174 people are known to have survived the sinking of the Sewol, which had been on its way from the South Korean port city of Incheon to the southern island of Jeju. The captain took more than a half hour to issue an evacuation order — an order several passengers have said they never heard.

The confirmed death toll jumped from 33 to 58 within 24 hours as divers, hampered for days by strong currents, bad weather and low visibility, finally found a way inside the sunken vessel. They quickly discovered more than a dozen bodies there in what almost certainly was just the beginning of a massive and grim recovery effort. Some of the bodies found Sunday were recovered outside the ship.

The bodies found early Monday were presumed to be students. Details provided a glimpse into their youthful lives. Many were fond of hoodies and track pants. One girl had red manicured fingernails and black toenail polish. Another wore braces.

The Sewol sank with 476 people on board, 323 of them students from a high school in Ansan. The 16- and 17-year-old students make up only 75 of the survivors, and about 225 of the missing. At least 23 of those confirmed dead are students, according to coast guard spokesman Kim Jae-in.

Park and her Cabinet took a step Sunday to secure funding needed for search and rescue work and relief, designating Jindo county and Ansan city — the students' hometown, south of Seoul — as a special disaster zone, coast guard spokesman Kim said.

Anguished families of the missing, fearful they might be left without even their loved ones' bodies, expressed their rage over the government's handling of the crisis several times Sunday.

About 100 relatives attempted a long protest march to the presidential Blue House in Seoul, about 250 miles to the north, saying they wanted to voice their complaints to Park. They walked for about six hours before some 200 police officers in neon jackets blocked them from continuing on a main road.

"The government is the killer," they shouted as they pushed against a police barricade.

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

Earlier Sunday morning, relatives of the missing blocked the car of Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and demanded a meeting with Park as Chung made a visit to Jindo. Chung later returned to the gymnasium, but met only with a number of representatives of the family members in a side office.

On Sunday evening, dozens of relatives who gathered at the port in Jindo surrounded the fisheries minister, Lee Ju-young. They shouted, swore, yelled threats and pushed him as he was on his way to a meeting with other officials.

The Sewol's captain, Lee Joon-seok, 68, was arrested Saturday, along with one of the ship's three helmsmen and the 25-year-old third mate, on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need. On Monday, prosecutors said they detained four crew members — two first mates, a second mate and a chief engineer — and senior prosecutor Ahn Sang-don said prosecutors will decide within 48 hours whether ask a court for arrest warrants for the newly detained crew.

The cause of the sinking is not known, but prosecutors said the ship made a sharp turn before it began to list.

Senior prosecutor Yang Jung-jin said the third mate has refused to tell investigators why she made the sharp turn. He said that she had a "psychological shock" and fainted under questioning, but that she told investigators she did not need medical attention.

Yang said 30 to 40 people have been barred from leaving South Korea while authorities investigate the sinking.

The Associated Press