S Korea ferry: Bad weather hampers search for survivors
Bad weather, murky water and strong currents are hampering the search for survivors of the South Korean ferry disaster.
Emergency services are still searching for 287 people missing after a ship carrying 475 people sank.
Officials say 179 people have been rescued. Most of the passengers were pupils at the same high school.
South Korea's president visited the wreck and urged rescuers to "hurry".
Park Geun-hye said that time was running out and that every minute and every second was critical.
Military divers who attempted to search the ship were swept out to sea
Relatives of the missing are enduring an agonising wait for information
Nine people are confirmed to have died, with dozens more injured.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency has reported that one Russian andtwo Chinese are also among the missing
Military divers have been fighting high wind and waves to try to access the vessel but were not able to get into any of the cabins, the Chief of the West Regional Headquarters of the South Korean Coastguard Kim Soo-hyun said.
The emergency services are battling terrible weather conditions. Specialist divers and equipment are at the scene and that is now the focus of rescue efforts, but the conditions are extremely difficult. Divers say it has been impossible to get far enough inside the ship because the currents have been too strong, and those same currents have been whipping up mud and reducing visibility to almost zero. And as the minutes tick away, so do the hopes of finding any more survivors
He denied reports that three divers had been swept away and had to be rescued themselves, however.
Speaking at a news conference on nearby Jindo Island, Mr Kim said he would approve civilian divers who wished to join the search, provided there was "trust" between them and the official search teams.
He also expressed hope that the arrival of underwater cameras would help divers operating in waters with extremely low visibility.
Overnight, naval and coastguard vessels used floodlights and flares, to maintain a search now involving more than 500 divers, 171 vessels and 29 aircraft.
But distraught relatives gathered in a gymnasium on nearby Jindo island insisted more should be done, and vented their grief and frustration to anyone who would listen.
"Get my child out of that ship! Dead or alive," one distraught father repeatedly shouted to rescue and local government officials."
Cause unclear
The vessel was travelling from Incheon port, in the north-west, to the southern resort island of Jeju.
Some reports say the ferry went off its course and at his press conference on Friday, Kim Soo-hyun, the chief of the regional coast guard, said that possibility was being investigated and that deviations from course would normally require Coast Guard approval.
Passengers' relatives are also questioning the role of the captain, who is being interviewed by police.
It is not yet clear what caused the ship to list at a severe angle and flip over, leaving only a small part of its hull visible above water, but some experts have suggested the ship may have hit an underwater obstacle.
The captain was being questioned, Yonhap news agency reported. "I am really sorry and deeply ashamed. I don't know what to say," Lee Joon-seok was shown saying on television.
Yonhap said the nine dead include four 17-year-old students and a 25-year-old teacher as well as a 22-year-old female crew member. Identities of the other three were not immediately known.
The latest figures say 475 people were on board, with 287 still unaccounted for. Figures issued by the government have changed several times, prompting criticism.
Strong currents
Efforts are concentrated on the ship, which sank in about 30m (100ft) of water.
"We carried out underwater searches five times from midnight until early in the morning, but strong currents and the murky water pose tremendous obstacles," said Kang Byung-kyu, minister for security and public administration.
Privately, some officials admit it is unlikely the remaining passengers will be found alive.
"Honestly, I think the chances of finding anyone alive are close to zero," a coastguard official told an AFP journalist on a rescue boat.
The US Navy has sent an amphibious assault ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard, to assist with the search.
Captain Joey Tynch told the BBC conditions were difficult.
"We found ourselves in challenging weather conditions today - very low cloud ceilings and reduced visibility and rain, and we're working a search area around the site in close co-ordination with the South Korean on-scene commander," he said.
Cranes are expected to reach the scene on Saturday.
No-one was rescued during the overnight search, which used spotlights and flares to light up the scene
South Korea's president (left, on stage) spoke to relatives of missing passengers, assembled in Jindo port.
Follow @LaNUBlog & @Hon_KingSIMEO on Twitter for Updates
Emergency services are still searching for 287 people missing after a ship carrying 475 people sank.
Officials say 179 people have been rescued. Most of the passengers were pupils at the same high school.
South Korea's president visited the wreck and urged rescuers to "hurry".
Park Geun-hye said that time was running out and that every minute and every second was critical.
Military divers who attempted to search the ship were swept out to sea
Relatives of the missing are enduring an agonising wait for information
Nine people are confirmed to have died, with dozens more injured.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency has reported that one Russian andtwo Chinese are also among the missing
Military divers have been fighting high wind and waves to try to access the vessel but were not able to get into any of the cabins, the Chief of the West Regional Headquarters of the South Korean Coastguard Kim Soo-hyun said.
The emergency services are battling terrible weather conditions. Specialist divers and equipment are at the scene and that is now the focus of rescue efforts, but the conditions are extremely difficult. Divers say it has been impossible to get far enough inside the ship because the currents have been too strong, and those same currents have been whipping up mud and reducing visibility to almost zero. And as the minutes tick away, so do the hopes of finding any more survivors
He denied reports that three divers had been swept away and had to be rescued themselves, however.
Speaking at a news conference on nearby Jindo Island, Mr Kim said he would approve civilian divers who wished to join the search, provided there was "trust" between them and the official search teams.
He also expressed hope that the arrival of underwater cameras would help divers operating in waters with extremely low visibility.
Overnight, naval and coastguard vessels used floodlights and flares, to maintain a search now involving more than 500 divers, 171 vessels and 29 aircraft.
But distraught relatives gathered in a gymnasium on nearby Jindo island insisted more should be done, and vented their grief and frustration to anyone who would listen.
"Get my child out of that ship! Dead or alive," one distraught father repeatedly shouted to rescue and local government officials."
Cause unclear
The vessel was travelling from Incheon port, in the north-west, to the southern resort island of Jeju.
Some reports say the ferry went off its course and at his press conference on Friday, Kim Soo-hyun, the chief of the regional coast guard, said that possibility was being investigated and that deviations from course would normally require Coast Guard approval.
Passengers' relatives are also questioning the role of the captain, who is being interviewed by police.
It is not yet clear what caused the ship to list at a severe angle and flip over, leaving only a small part of its hull visible above water, but some experts have suggested the ship may have hit an underwater obstacle.
The captain was being questioned, Yonhap news agency reported. "I am really sorry and deeply ashamed. I don't know what to say," Lee Joon-seok was shown saying on television.
Yonhap said the nine dead include four 17-year-old students and a 25-year-old teacher as well as a 22-year-old female crew member. Identities of the other three were not immediately known.
The latest figures say 475 people were on board, with 287 still unaccounted for. Figures issued by the government have changed several times, prompting criticism.
Strong currents
Efforts are concentrated on the ship, which sank in about 30m (100ft) of water.
"We carried out underwater searches five times from midnight until early in the morning, but strong currents and the murky water pose tremendous obstacles," said Kang Byung-kyu, minister for security and public administration.
Privately, some officials admit it is unlikely the remaining passengers will be found alive.
"Honestly, I think the chances of finding anyone alive are close to zero," a coastguard official told an AFP journalist on a rescue boat.
The US Navy has sent an amphibious assault ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard, to assist with the search.
Captain Joey Tynch told the BBC conditions were difficult.
"We found ourselves in challenging weather conditions today - very low cloud ceilings and reduced visibility and rain, and we're working a search area around the site in close co-ordination with the South Korean on-scene commander," he said.
Cranes are expected to reach the scene on Saturday.
No-one was rescued during the overnight search, which used spotlights and flares to light up the scene
South Korea's president (left, on stage) spoke to relatives of missing passengers, assembled in Jindo port.
Follow @LaNUBlog & @Hon_KingSIMEO on Twitter for Updates
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