“岁月号”沉船打捞出遗体 学生曾试图逃生

South Korean divers swam though dark, cold waters into a sunken ferry on Wednesday, feeling for children's bodies with their hands in a maze of cabins, corridors and upturned decks as they searched for hundreds of missing.

The divers, with oxygen and communications lines trailing, can only see a few inches in front of them in the wreckage of the ship that started sinking a week ago after a sharp turn. Most of the victims were high school children, who were told to stay where they were for their own safety and were trapped.

Most of the bodies found in the last two days had broken fingers, presumably from the children frantically trying to climb the walls or floors to escape in their last moments, media said.

"We are trained for hostile environments, but it's hard to be brave when we meet bodies in dark water," diver Hwang Dae-sik told Reuters, as the funerals of 25 students were held near the capital,Seoul.

Prosecutors investigating the disaster raided the home of Yoo Byung-un, the head of a family that owns the Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd, the company that operated the Sewol ferry. They also raided his son's home and the office of a church with which Yoo has been associated, said a prosecutor who did not want to be identified.

The finances of Chonghaejin and its complex share structure have come into the spotlight in recent days. Yoo was jailed for fraud for four years in the early 1990s.

But it was not immediately clear how big a development this was. Korean police and prosecutors often make dramatic raids to show that progress is being made in a high-profile case.

Underwater, at the site of the sunken Sewol, divers are able to work for nearly an hour at a time as long as the oxygen lines do not snag on sharp corners of the ship's internal structure. When they use cumbersome oxygen tanks on their backs instead, they can work for about 20 minutes before an alarm bell sounds.

The Sewol sank last Wednesday on a routine trip from the port of Incheon, near Seoul, to the southern island of Jeju.

Of the 476 passengers and crew on board, 339 were children and teachers on a high school outing. Only 174 people have been rescued and the remainder are presumed to have drowned.

The confirmed death toll on Wednesday was 146, many found at the back of the ship on the fourth deck.

Hwang said his team had retrieved 14 bodies so far. "We have to touch everything with our hands. This is the most grueling and heartbreaking job of my career," he said.

Captain Lee Joon-seok, 69, and other crew members have been arrested on negligence charges. Lee was also charged with undertaking an "excessive change of course without slowing down".

LAW REQUIRES CAPTAIN TO STAY ON BOARD

Several crew members, including the captain, left the ferry as it was sinking, witnesses have said, after passengers were told to stay in their cabins, even though it was time for breakfast. President Park Geun-hye said on Monday that instruction was tantamount to an "act of murder".

"The charged crew members appear to have not carried out their duty to rescue the passengers at all," prosecutor Ahn Sang-don told a briefing. "Based on the fact that they were gathered in the bridge, engine room and so on, then left the boat, we believe negligent homicide is applicable."

According to Article 10 of Seafarers' Act, a captain has to remain on board until all passengers have disembarked.

A boy with a shaking voice gave the first distress call to the emergency services when the ferry listed.

Most of those who survived made it out on deck and jumped into rescue boats, but many of the children did not leave their cabins, not questioning their elders as is customary in hierarchical Korean society. They paid for their obedience with their lives.

Lee was not on the bridge when the ship turned. Navigation was in the hands of a 26-year old third mate who was in charge for the first time on that part of the journey, according to crew members.

The wife of one crew member under investigation who did not wish to be identified quoted her husband as saying: "I should have died out there."

"He told me that he was taking some rest as he had finished his shift. He fell from his bed and struggled to open the room door to get out. He said he didn't go to the steering house to meet up with rest of the crew. Rather he was found by coastguards and was rescued.

"My husband didn't get along with other crewmen, but he told me that Captain Lee was someone comfortable and extremely calm. He said Captain Lee was like no other: he didn't drink much, although he did smoke."

据路透社4月23日报道，韩国潜水员23日进入漆黑冰冷的海水，在沉船如迷宫般的船舱、走廊和向上的甲板中搜寻上百具失踪学生的遗体。

潜水员带着氧气补给和通讯设备，在能见度只有几英寸的沉船内展开搜寻，这艘船在一周前因急转沉没。大部分遇难者为高中生，他们被要求原地等待救援，因此困在船中。

媒体报道称，近两日发现的大部分的遗体手指断裂，可能是由于学生在最后时刻发疯般地试图爬出船舱。

“我们接受过在恶劣环境作业的训练，但在漆黑的水中碰到尸体时，很难勇敢起来，”潜水员Hwang Dae-sik对路透社说。与此同时，25位遇难学生的葬礼正在首尔附近举行。

一位不愿透露姓名的检察人员说，这起事故的调查人员突然进入Chonghaejin船舶管理公司所有者Yoo Byung-un的住宅，这家公司负责运营“岁月号”客轮。检查人员同时进入其子家中以及与其有关的一所教堂的办公室。

近日Chonghaejin公司的财务状况及其复杂的股份结构进入公众视野。Yoo Byung-un曾在90年代初因诈骗入狱四年。

但是尚不清楚此事进展如何。韩国警察和检查人员经常通过突袭手段表明备受关注的案件的调查正在进行中。

在“岁月号”沉没海域，只要氧气补给设备不被客轮内部的结构戳破，潜水员可工作近一小时。但由于背着笨重的氧气瓶，他们工作大约20分钟，警铃就会响起。

4月16日，“岁月号”从首尔附近的仁川港出发，前往南部的济州岛，途中沉没。

“岁月号”上共载有476人，其中有339人来自一所高中的师生。事故发生后，目前只有174人已获救，其他人或许均已溺亡。

截至4月23日，确认的遇难人数为146人，其中的多数是在第四层甲板尾部发现的。

Hwang称，他所在的潜水队迄今已经找到了14具尸体。“我们只能凭借双手去触摸搜寻，这是我职业生涯中最艰苦、最令人心碎的工作，”他说。

69岁的船长李俊锡（Lee Joon-seok）和其他船员已因玩忽职守被逮捕。李俊锡同时因“不但没有减速还快速变更了航向”受到指控。

法律要求船长守在船上

目击者称，包括船长在内的几名船员在船下沉时弃船逃生，而他们要求乘客在船舱内原地待命，尽管已到早餐时间。韩国总统朴槿惠21日表示船长的指令无异于“谋杀”。

检察官Ahn Sang-don在一次通报会上说：“受指控的船员根本没有履行营救乘客的职责”。“事实上他们集中在驾驶舱、轮机舱和其他地方，之后弃船逃生，我们认为因玩忽职守杀人的罪名成立”。

《船员法》第10条规定，船长必须在所有乘客都下船后方可离船。

当船体倾斜的时候，一名男孩第一个拨通了紧急救援部门的电话，电话中他声音十分颤抖。

大多数获救的人冲到甲板上跳上救生艇，但是由于韩国一直以来听从长辈的服从文化，很多学生却留在船舱内，未质疑船长的指令。他们为此付出了生命的代价。

船员说，船转弯时船长并不在驾驶舱，船是由一名26岁的三副掌舵，她第一次负责该段航行。

一名不愿透露姓名的船员妻子在接受调查时表示，她的丈夫说“我本该死在那里的”。

“他告诉我说，他在完成他那班岗后正在休息。他从床上掉下来，挣扎着打开房门逃出船舱。他说他没有去驾驶室和其他船员汇合，而是被海岸警卫队员发现并获救。”

“我丈夫和其他船员关系不好，但是他说李船长性格非常温和，遇事冷静。他说李船长和其他人不同，尽管他抽烟，但不酗酒”。