Seoul ferry disaster: South Korean PM resigns

, April 28:

Chung Hong-won offered his resignation over the Seoul ship accident. A sombre-looking Chung apologised to the people and offered his resignation on Sunday.

What led to the anger and the bewilderment of the citizens is the fact that there were a slew of loopholes in safety measures and a laxity in regulatory enforcement, which led to the sinking of the 6,825-ton ship on April 16.

The government was also criticized for failing to respond to the distress calls of the ship and the rescue operation. Accepting the criticism, Chung said,"When I saw the people's sadness and fury, I thought it was natural for me to step down with an apology".

While most of the passengers who were drowned or are missing were school children on a trip, survivors narrate how irresponsible the crew members and the captain were who insisted the passengers to stay inside when the ship was listing dangerously.

Incidentally, the ship's captain Lee Jun-seok, 69, and 14 other crew members escaped the ferry on the first two coast guard ships that arrived at the scene. All of them have been arrested under charges of accidental homicide and criminal charges.

Meanwhile, Chung's resignation will be official only when President Park Geun-hye accepts it. Till now, the death toll is 187 and 115 ferry passengers went missing. Divers, meanwhile are facing a lot of problems in reaching inside the ship due to bad water currants and obstacles caused by the debris.

They have to make way through the narrow corridors that are clogged by debris to try and reach the samll cabins in the front and the large communal sleeping hall where most of the children are believed to be trapped.

OneIndia News