JINDO - Divers retrieved the first bodies Sunday from inside the submerged South Korean ferry that capsized four days ago with hundreds of children on board, as families angered by the pace and focus of the rescue efforts scuffled with police. Coastguard officials said 19 bodies had been removed from the ship which sank on Wednesday morning, pushing operations further along the painful transition from rescue to recovery and identification. Prosecutors, meanwhile, revealed that the officer at the helm of the 6,825-tonne Sewol when it capsized was not familiar with those particular waters. The confirmed death toll from the disaster stood at 58 with 244 people still unaccounted for. Three bodies were pulled out of the fully submerged ferry just before midnight and another 16 were recovered later Sunday, a coastguard spokesman said. It was a watershed moment for distraught relatives who have clung desperately to the idea that some passengers may have survived in air pockets in the upturned vessel. The bodies were placed in tents at the harbour on Jindo island -- not far from the disaster site -- where the relatives have been camped out in a gymnasium since the ferry went down. In a process that looks set to be repeated with tragic frequency in the coming days, they were checked for IDs and other particulars, after which their relatives were informed and asked to make an official identification.Trauma of identification Some of the policemen standing guard at the tents were openly weeping, while the cries of the family members could be heard from inside. Of the 476 people on board the Sewol, 350 were high school students headed for the holiday island of Jeju. Devastated relatives have repeatedly denounced what they feel has been a botched, delayed and incompetent emergency response to the disaster. Nearly 200 family members set off Sunday on a hike from Jindo to Seoul -- 420 kilometres (260 miles) to the north -- where they planned to march on the presidential Blue House in protest. Scuffles broke out when they were prevented from crossing the bridge to the mainland by a large police detachment, and eventually they were forced to turn back. One of the marchers, Chung Hye-Sook, a mother of one of the missing students, said she was appalled that the authorities had begun taking DNA samples to facilitate identification of the bodies before the entire ferry had been searched. "What are those people thinking?!," Chung shouted. "We are asking them to save our children's lives. We can't even think about DNA testing. I want to save my child first," she said. Three giant floating cranes have been at the disaster site off the southern coast of South Korea for days, but the coastguard has promised it will not begin lifting the ferry until it is clear there is nobody left alive. Investigators have arrested the ferry's captain, Lee Joon-Seok who has been bitterly criticised for abandoning hundreds of passengers still trapped in the ferry as he made his own escape. Also detained were a 55-year-old helmsman and the ship's young and relatively inexperienced third officer, identified by her surname Park, who was in charge of the bridge when the disaster occurred. Tracking data shows the ship took a radical right turn while navigating through a group of islets off the southern coast. Such a sharp turn could have dislodged the heavy cargo manifest -- including more than 150 vehicles -- and destabilised the vessel, causing it to list heavily and then capsize.Inexperience at the helm? While Park, 26, had been sailing the Incheon-Jeju for six months, "it was the first time for her to navigate this particular route," a senior prosecutor told reporters Saturday. The captain said he was returning to the bridge from his cabin when the ship ran into trouble. Questioned as to why passengers had been ordered not to move for more than 40 minutes after the ship first foundered, the captain insisted he had acted in their best interests. "The currents were very strong ... I thought that passengers would be swept far away and fall into trouble if they evacuated," Lee said. A transcript of the last panicked communications between the Sewol and the Jindo Vehicle Traffic Service, show the captain repeatedly asking if there were vessels on hand to rescue any passengers if they abandoned ship. Only 174 were rescued when the ferry sank and no new survivors have been found since Wednesday. The ferry tragedy looks set to become one of South Korea's worst peacetime disasters. A Seoul department store collapsed in 1995, killing more than 500 people, while nearly 300 people died when a ferry capsized off the west coast in 1993.
More
Superhero guests show up at Vietnamese wedding
A 1.75-meter figure of Japanese comic character Kamen Rider welcomed guests at the entrance to the wedding venue, while Transformers’ Optimus and Bumblebee were also present at the wedding
Read more
Orangutan's use of medicinal plant to treat wound intrigues scientists
In June 2022, a male Sumatran orangutan named Rakus sustained a facial wound below the right eye, apparently during a fight with another male orangutan at the Suaq Balimbing research site, a protected rainforest area in Indonesia. What Rakus did three days later really caught the attention of scientists
1 day agoMichelangelo's David gets spa treatment in Florence
David's bi-monthly cleaning, then, is 'a form of respect, a form of dignity that we want to give to every work'
2 months agoSouth Korea to slap fines on food suppliers for 'shrinkflation'
The rule will take effect in August after a three-month grace period, and violators will be fined 5 million won for their first offence and 10 million won for a second
1 day agoStay alert: Quake warning app demand surges in earthquake-rattled Taiwan
Earthquake warning smartphone apps have surged in popularity in Taiwan due to high demand from people eager to get a few extra seconds to take cover after more than 1,300 aftershocks rattled the island in the past month following a large temblor
1 day agoSouthern China road collapse kills at least 19
The incident is the latest in a string of deadly disasters to hit Guangdong in recent weeks
3 days agoHighlights
South-central Vietnam district says it needs nearly $16,000 to handle dead heritage tree
The tree was recognized as a national heritage tree in 2019
Photos
Artist paints murals on house to raise awareness of COVID-19 prevention in Hanoi
He drew the virus, vaccine, and earth on the exterior walls of a house
Latest news
South-central Vietnam district says it needs nearly $16,000 to handle dead heritage tree
The tree was recognized as a national heritage tree in 2019
Chinese director held over boiler explosion that kills 6 in Vietnam
Seven other foreigners have been banned from leaving Vietnam to serve the ongoing investigation
Hanoi’s district launches probe into landfill wastewater spill
The images of the incident were disseminated on social media platforms
Ho Chi Minh City fells, relocates some 100 trees for road expansion near Tan Son Nhat airport
The number of replanted trees will be higher than that of the removed ones
French Armed Forces Minister to attend Dien Bien Phu victory anniversary in Vietnam
The event will take place next Tuesday, May 7, in Dien Bien Phu, the capital city of Dien Bien Province
Unveiling the origins of sushi: a journey through Vietnam
Japanese professor Hibino Terutoshi has taken numerous research trips through Vietnam in pursuit of the origins of sushi
Vietnam becomes more attractive to int’l tech firms: Samsung executive
Vietnam has demonstrated its role as part of the global supply chain
Lightning kills man in southern Vietnam
The victim was taken to the hospital when he stopped breathing and suffered severe burns
Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News — May 4
Good morning from Vietnam!
Vietnamese violate regulations by using special-use forests to access restricted areas
Though local authorities have signs restricting people from accessing the sites, the situation remains rampant