China News Service, April 16 (Chen Shuang) Five years ago, on April 15, students from Tanyuan High School in South Korea were waiting excitedly on the dock. They were preparing to take the " Sewol " cruise ship arranged by the school to Jeju Island .
The sea was filled with fog that day, and the visibility was very low. Many ships on the same route had to cancel their sailing. However, in order to avoid paying for cargo and passengers, Captain Lee Junxi was determined to take risks.
15, the sailing of the Sewol was normal, and a fireworks party and a buffet dinner were also held on board.
16, when passing by the waters near Jindo County, Jeolla South Jeolla Province, the Sewol suddenly tilted severely and began to sink.
In the end, the Sewol, which carried 476 passengers, completely overturned, killing 295 people and missing another 9 people.
Data map: On April 16, 2014, local time, the "Sewol" passenger ship sank.
The third anniversary of late
The students who died in the "Sewol" shipwreck have ushered in the graduation ceremony
Among the victims, 250 are students of Tanyuan High School in South Korea. Without this disaster, these kids should have received their high school diploma in the spring of 2016.
The parents of the students who died in
hope to have a graduation ceremony after the remains are salvaged, and Tanyuan High School postponed this for 3 years.
On February 12, 2019, with the end of the salvage and search of the "Sewol" shipwreck, the graduation ceremony of the victims was finally held. At the
event, the empty chairs with 250 students' signatures were filled with flowers and graduation gifts. The names of the victims were read out in turn and were awarded honorary diplomas. Many families of victims who were swallowed by sadness were buried in the seats and cried.
has been five years since the shipwreck. In these five years, in addition to remembrance and longing, people also want to figure out what caused this tragedy?
Data picture: On April 17, 2015, local time, in Seoul, South Korea, 4,160 people holding candles formed the shape of the "Sewol" hull in Seoul Square to commemorate the first anniversary of the sinking of the "Sewol" passenger ship.
5 Investigation
Who sounded the death knell of the "Sewol"?
After the shipwreck accident occurred, the official report determined that it was an accident. The report said that the Sewol made a sharp turn when passing through the island, causing the hull to tilt. As the container and cargo also fell in the same direction, the tilt angle of the hull was aggravated, causing a tragedy.
can be found as the investigation progresses and the descriptions of survivors and witnesses, people found that things are far from that simple: when the
disaster occurred, the captain and crew who should have organized passenger evacuation repeatedly emphasized that they would let the passengers stand on time, and then pretend that the passengers abandoned the ship and fled;
government departments that should have rescued quickly not only acted slowly, but even prevented civil rescue forces from approaching the ship of the accident;
Then South Korean President Park Geun-hye "lost contact" for 7 hours at the time of the incident and did not exert leadership at all.
The passengers trapped in the cabin gradually lost hope of life during this delay of one second.
The matter is getting bigger and bigger. The Park government has established a special investigation committee for the "Sewol" to calm public grievances. But just one year after the accident, Park Geun-hye dissolved the organization on the grounds that "the special adjustment committee will waste taxpayers' money after extending the time."
Not only that, the Park government also tampers with the time of the shipwreck and lies about the location of the shipwreck in the subsequent accident report to suppress Korean performing artists who participated in the protests...
Data picture: On April 18, 2015, local time, the families of the victims of the "Sewol" shipwreck marched to the Presidential Palace to protest and was blocked, and the demonstrators clashed with the police.
Various doubts made the Park government lose the trust of the Korean people. For a time, various conspiracy theories in South Korea were rampant.
On March 10, 2017, Park Geun-hye was impeached and stepped down for the incident of "confidence interfering in politics", and the so-called "sensitive information" was gradually exposed.
htmlIn the past 2005, after joint investigation by South Korean prosecutors, media and other sectors, although the truth of the shipwreck has not been fully revealed, at least the following facts can be clarified:The South Korean authorities reacted very slowly, and the rescue site was chaotic: According to Korean media, on the day of the accident, the then Minister of Security of South Korea was still attending the graduation ceremony at the police school even though they knew a shipwreck had occurred; when the Minister of Marine and Fisheries of the Ministry of Marine and Fisheries arrived at the scene, most of the hull of the "Sewol" had sunk to the bottom of the sea; and Park Geun-hye himself had no idea about the rescue situation.
In addition, due to the confusion of information on the scene, at around 11 a.m. that day, a Korean media sent out an incorrect message that "the students have been rescued by all employees", which further exacerbated people's misjudgment of the rescue situation.
Data picture: former South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
has many safety hazards, and the inspection department neglected its duties : The "Sewol" was originally a ferry, but after a lot of unreasonable modifications, it became an luxury cruise ship . On the day of sinking, the goods it transported were seriously overloaded, and safety hazards were everywhere.
What's more terrifying is that in order to save expenses, the "Chinghai Town" shipping company, which operates the "Sewol", hired crew members who have just graduated students or retired personnel, and they have almost no safety training. Therefore, when the accident occurs, the crew members' ability to deal with it is extremely poor.
At the same time, the department that should have performed its inspection duties also neglected its duties after accepting bribes.
Data picture: Captain Lee Junxi of the Sewol.
After the disaster,
Exploring the truth is the best comfort for the victims
It is gratifying that the attention of all sectors of society on the truth about the shipwreck has not ended over time.
In 2014, in the documentary "Drifting•Korean Society-Southing Accident, 8 Months of the Remnants" broadcast by NHK in Japan, we see the story of the families of the victims' families trying to pursue the truth and the deep reflection of the shipwreck accident by Korean society.
In March 2017, Chinese companies salvaged the "Sewol" shipwrecked that had been sleeping underwater for three years, providing possibilities for further investigation.
Data map: On February 21, 2018, local time, the operators were preparing to move the "Sewol" to the module transport vehicle (MT) in Mopo Singgang, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. After moving the Sewol horizontally on the same day, the staff prepared to straighten the hull on May 31. Image source: Visual China
In 2018, the documentary "That Year, the Sea" was released. The film tries to simulate the process of ship sinking through scientific methods and explore the truth behind it.
In 2019, on the 5th anniversary of the shipwreck of the Sewol, South Korean people held a series of memorial activities for the victims. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said once again that he would thoroughly find out the truth of the accident and punish the person in charge, and also promised to build the "4.16 Life Safety Park" as soon as possible, and regard the lives and safety of the people as the highest value.
People's exploration of the truth about the sinking of the Sewol, never stops and will continue.
Because only in this way can the tragedy not repeat itself; only in this way can the best memorial to the victims.
