Anger boils over in search for S. Korea ship missing
Twenty-five people were confirmed dead, with hundreds still missing, the coastguard said late Thursday, as rescuers battled high waves and recovered more bodies as shown in this BBC footage. Worsening weather fuelled the somber mood, with persistent rain and choppy seas hindering dive teams already struggling with low visibility and strong currents.
MANILA, Apr 17 (Mabuhay) – Two Filipino entertainers were among the passengers who were rescued from a ferry that sank off South Korea earlier this week.
A report on Bombo Radyo on Thursday quoted Philippine embassy in Seoul officer-on-duty Bobby dela Cruz as saying the two were brought to a hospital for treatment.
Dela Cruz did not immediately name the two Filipinos, the report added.
But dela Cruz was also quoted in the report as saying no Filipinos were among the 200 reported missing in the wake of the tragedy.
He added the embassy will continue to monitor the progress of search and rescue operations.
DFA Spokesperson Asec. Charles Jose said in a text message on Thursday that the Filipino entertainers who worked on the ship “are safe and have been brought to the hospital for treatment.”
Jose also said there was no report of other Filipinos being hurt in the accident.
In Jindo, meanwhile, emotions boiled over Thursday in the frantic search for almost 300 people – mostly schoolchildren – missing from a capsized South Korean ferry, with angry parents confronting President Park Geun-Hye as prospects dwindled of finding survivors.
Worsening weather fuelled the sombre mood, with persistent rain and choppy seas hindering dive teams already struggling with low visibility and strong currents.
Twenty-five people were confirmed dead, the coastguard said late Thursday, as rescuers battled high waves and recovered more bodies.
But with every hour that passed fears mounted for the 271 still unaccounted for after the multi-deck vessel with 475 on board suddenly listed, capsized and then sank within the space of 90 minutes on Wednesday morning.
“Honestly, I think the chances of finding anyone alive are close to zero,” a coastguard official told an AFP journalist on one of the boats at the site.
The coastguard said more than 500 divers, 169 vessels and 29 aircraft were now involved in the rescue operation.
But distraught relatives gathered in a gymnasium on nearby Jindo island insisted more should be done, and vented their frustration when the president came to inspect the rescue effort.
“What are you doing when people are dying? Time is running out!” one woman screamed as Park tried to address the volatile crowd with her security detail standing by nervously.
A total of 375 high school students were on board, travelling with their teachers to the popular island resort of Jeju.
When Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won visited the gymnasium earlier in the day, he was jostled and shouted at, and water bottles were thrown.