The country is still in a deep state of shock and sorrow about the ferry disaster with one-hundred-ninety-three
people now confirmed dead and one-hundred-and-nine others unacccounted for, but presumed dead.
Let's connect with our Shin Se-min at the news center,...
Se-min, the weather hasn't been on the search and rescue team's side in recent days...
how has this affected operations?
Hi, Mark, the conditions down there in Jindo have definitely made things extremely difficult.
Heavy rain, high tides, fast currents and fog were troubling factors,... hampering the
rescue operation.
Currently, the official death toll stands at 1-hundred-93,... with four more bodies
being discovered,... during an early morning rescue operation at around 2 a.m., Korea time.
The bodies have not yet been identified,... but are presumed to be male students from
Danwon High School.
Going back to the conditions down at the site, rain clouds are expected to clear over the
course of this morning... which should help search efforts, but sea conditions will get
tougher with currents forecast to reach speeds of up to 2-point-4 meters per second.
In terms of the search operation,... a diving bell is expected to be put in on Tuesday afternoon.
This will allow divers to continue their underwater search for up to 20 consecutive hours.
So far,... only one third of one-hundred-11 cabins have been searched.
The divers are mainly focused on searching the fourth floor of the ferry,... where most
of the missing passengers are believed to be, and where they also found some of the
bodies over the last several hours.
Let's hope the conditions improve enough for them to recover more of the victims for the
sake of their poor families...
now, Se-min... new video footage of the early stages of the sinking have been released...
and it makes for shocking viewing...
Yes, it really does.
The video released by the maritime police shows the first crucial moments of how rescue
efforts were carried out,... and it shows the captain and some of the crew being among
the first to get off the sinking ferry.
Now,... the central focus of the footage is the period between 9:43 a.m. and 9:49 a.m.
This footage CLEARLY shows captain Lee Joon-seok and his crew leaving the ferry without attending
to passengers.
It's difficult to distinguish him as the captain,.... as Lee jumps into the rescue boat in his boxer
shorts WITHOUT his uniform on.
By 9:35 a.m., all 15 crew members have started to abandon their ship,... but as you can see
hardly any passengers are seen on the deck of the ferry, raising criticism the crew didn't
properly instruct them to leave the ship.
Still more questions than answers at this point unfortunately...
What about the criminal investigations that are ongoing at this moment,... what do we
know so far?
Yes, there are a number of investigations underway,... and among those is the link between
Kim Han-sik , the president of the Chonghaejin Marine Company, and Yoo Byung-eon , the practical
owner of the ferry company.
Kim was summoned for investigation Tuesday morning,... for the first time since the ferry
disaster.
Prosecutors are looking into whether Kim was involved in any business irregularities,...
such as embezzlement, dereliction of duty and tax evasion,... in connection with Yoo.
The possibility that Kim managed slush funds for Yoo Byung-eon is also being investigated.
Investigators have been also looking into Yoo Byung-eon ,... and have raided four offices
in Seoul, Daegu and in Gyeonggi-do Province on Monday looking for evidence of paper companies.
They also raided the Mokpo Coast Guard Station,... suspecting officers there of neglected their
duties in the early stages of the rescue.
Also three members of the Korea Shipping Association have been arrested, for destroying evidence
in relation to the case.
Investigations into whether the ferry had malfunctioning life boats on board will also
broaden,... as five life boats were found floating near the scene,.. indicating they
began to work MUCH later than they should have.
Normally, a functioning life boat would automatically deploy upon coming under external pressure.
That's all I have for now,.. but I will keep you updated throughout the day.