Ferry Tragedy

 Photo courtesy of independent.co.uk 

Four days ago, the Sewol, a ferry traveling from Incheon (in the northwest, near Seoul) to Jeju Island ("Korea's Hawaii," south of the mainland) listed and capsized.  I'm sure most of you have heard by now.  There were nearly 500 people on board, many of whom were high school students on their way to the island for a school field trip.  As of now, 174 people have survived, 58 have been found dead, and 244 are still unaccounted for.  This is four days after the initial incident.

Divers have been going down as often as possible (which isn't often due to bad weather and a strong current) with the hope of rescuing those who may have survived in air pockets in the ship.  They have been faced with bad weather and zero visibility, though, and haven't been able to get inside the ship until today, when the weather cleared up a bit.  Today, divers recovered the first 20 bodies from inside the sunken ship.

Meanwhile, parents and relatives of the students are grieved and enraged.  They've been camping out at a gym near the scene of the accident, waiting for news, but haven't gotten much.  Several reports of parents physically attacking officials have surfaced.  The vice principal of the high school has hung himself.  Police barricaded a bridge as parents attempted to cross it; they intended to march several hundred kilometers to the Blue House (Korea's version of the White House) and demand to know why "nothing" is being done.

The Korean news constantly covers the accident, but hasn't had much to say since the day the capsizing occurred.  They replay footage of the ferry sinking, show clips of parents camping out and scenes of students holding vigils; they compare this accident to previous ferry accidents; they show the hospital and the morgue; they attempt to interview the Captain, continuously casting the brunt of the blame on him for reportedly instructing passengers to stay seated before the sinking; they show models of the Sewol and explain possibility after possibility in immense detail.

A terrible tragedy has turned to hopelessness and chaos.  Continue to pray for calm waters, that good may surface in spite of the bitter badness beneath.

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Thanks for reading :)