Rescuers Race to Find Survivors of South Korean Ferry Sinking

WSJ ^ | April 16, 2014 | ALASTAIR GALE, KWANWOO JUN and IN-SOO NAM

[BlueStateRightist]

SEOUL—South Korea said almost 300 people remain missing after a passenger ferry sank early Wednesday near the country's southwest coast.

Rescue services raced to find survivors from the ship, which quickly rolled over and may have trapped passengers inside. Two bodies have been recovered from the site.

Officials said the cause of the disaster hadn't been determined.

[BlueStateRightist]

Enormous disaster. High school kids.

[ilovesarah2012]

So sad. How does that happen?

[Rockitz]

FR was almost first last night with this story. Still nothing on Drudge.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3144869/posts

[freebird5850]

My guess is that it was overcrowded, the boat lists to one side setting panic so all rush to the other to level off and then she rolls too far and capsizes.

[AnAmericanAbroad]

From what I’ve been reading, survivors noted that they heard a thud, the ship shuddered and begin almost listing to port.

The MV Sewol’s capacity is 960 passengers, so she certainly wasn’t overcrowded as there were only 460 onboard.
_____________________________________

MV SEWOL

DWT: 3,794 dwt on 6.26m draught

Built: 06/1994 Hayashikane-Japan

Flag: Korea

Class: KR

Passengers: 960

Crew: 35

Car/Trailer: 88 Cars, 60 Trucks, 152 TEU

GRT: 6,825

Dims.: Loa 145.61, Lbp 132.0, B 22.0, D 14.0m

M/E: Pielstick 12PC2-6V, 2x9000 bhp 520 rpm

D/G: Daihatsu, 3x1030 kW 720 rpm

Speed: 23.88 kn

Bow & Stern Thrusters, Stabilizers

Trading INCHEON – JEJU ISLAND, KOREA

http://forsaleships.net/satilik_gemi/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=5715

[AnAmericanAbroad]

Make that “....began almost immediately listing to port.”

[eccentric]

It looks more like a ‘capsize,’ not sink.

[AnAmericanAbroad]

Here's a pic from a few hours ago. They might find survivors trapped in air pockets, but it's nothing I'd be willing to wager money on, unfortunately. There's still 284 missing and unaccounted for.

[ecomcon]

Load shift?

[moehoward]

A 'before' pic

[AnAmericanAbroad]

Survivors are saying heard a thud and then the abruptly shuddered to a stop and began listing to port immediately. They’re saying it seemed to them like the ship hit something. But according to reports, there are reefs, rocks, or other underwater obstructions that could pose a hazard.

I guess we’ll find out when the raise her.

[AnAmericanAbroad]

Survivors are saying they heard a thud and then the vessel abruptly shuddered to a stop and began listing to port immediately. They’re saying it seemed to them like the ship hit something. But according to reports, there are no reefs, rocks, or other underwater obstructions that could pose a hazard.

I guess we’ll find out when the raise her.

[mojito]

Rammed by a Nork sub?

Killing high school kids is something lil Kim would enjoy.

[cherokee1]

Just happened to be watching Far East news when it was happening. The earliest pics showed the hull heeling really hard to port such that the hand rail was in the water but the superstructure was still above.

The only way that can happen is to hit bottom hard and probably on one side, pretty much like the cruise ship that hit Italy some months ago. Rolling nearly upside down would not be from normal flooding indicating the seabed is involved. But they got a mess on their hands.

[BenLurkin]

My money is on the North Koreans.

[Eagles6]

Yeah

[RitchieAprile]

More likely that the captain took a short cut through dodgy waters and hit a rock.