“歲月號”學生遺體顯示 死前奮力逃生

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 theportofIncheon, nearSeoul, to the southernislandofJeju.

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."星期三(4月23日），韓國潛水員穿梭在迷宮般的船艙、走廊和上翹的甲板之間，在冰冷漆黑的水中用他們的手去搜索數百名遇難者的屍體。

一週前，在沉船之後，潛水員帶着氧氣補給和通訊設備，在能見度只有幾英寸的失事客輪裏展開搜救。大部分遇難者是高中生，他們被告知爲安全起見呆在原地，因而被困。

過去兩天發現的大多數屍體的手指是抓破了的，大概是孩子們在最後時刻瘋狂地試圖爬上牆壁或地板逃生而抓破的，媒體說。

在首爾附近舉行的25名學生的葬禮上，潛水員Hwang Dae-sik 告訴路透社記者“我們受過訓練，專門在惡劣環境中工作，但當我們在漆黑的水下碰到屍體時，很難保持勇敢。”

調查此起事故的檢察官突擊搜查“歲月號”所屬的Chonghaejin船舶管理公司所有者Yoo Byeong-eon的住所。他們也搜查了他兒子的住所和與Yoo有關的教堂辦公室，一名不願透露姓名的檢察官說道。

最近幾天，chonghaejin的資產及其複雜的股權結構狀況備受關注。90年代初，Yoo因欺詐罪被囚禁了4年。

但目前還不知道該調查進展如何。韓國警方和檢察官常常發起驚心動魄的突擊檢查，來表明案件調查正在高調進行。

在歲月號沉沒的地方，只要氧氣袋不被船內部結構的尖角鉤破，潛水員每次差不多可以工作一個小時。但如果換成笨重的氧氣罐的話，他們工作20分鐘後，警鐘就響了。

上週三(4月16日)，從首爾附近的京畿道安山市前往濟州島修學旅行的歲月號客輪沉沒。

船上有476名的乘客和船員，其中339人是一個高中學校的老師和學生，他們要前往濟州島修學旅行。目前，只有174人獲救，其餘人估計都已經淹死。"

星期三，經過確認的死亡人數達146人，許多人死在第四層甲板的船背上。

Hwang說他的團隊到目前爲止已經打撈出14具屍體。“我們要用雙手去搜索一切。這是我職業生涯中最艱苦和最讓我心痛的工作，”他說。

69歲的船長Lee Joon-seok，還有其他船員由於玩忽職守已經被捕。李還被控告“在不減速的情況下而急劇轉向”。

法律要求船長留在船上

包括船長在內的幾個船員，在船下沉時棄船而逃，有目擊者說，雖然當時是吃早飯的時候，但他們也告訴乘客們要呆在客艙裏。本週一（4月21日），韓國總統朴槿惠說，該指令無異於謀殺。

“被指控的船員顯然根本沒盡他們救援乘客的責任，”檢察官 Ahn Sang-don 在發佈會上說。”基於他們聚集在船橋上，發動機室裏和其它地方，然後逃跑的事實，我們認爲過失殺人是成立的。”

根據海員法第10條規定，船長必須在所有的乘客都上岸後才能離開船。

當客輪傾斜時，一個男孩用顫抖的聲音給緊急服務中心打了第一個求救電話。

大多數倖存者是從甲板跳進救生艇，但許多孩子沒有離開客艙，他們沒有向長輩提出質疑，這是韓國等級社會裏常見的情況。他們爲了順從而付出了生命的代價。

船翻的時候，Lee不在船橋上。根據船員所說，該客輪當時是由一個26歲的三副來駕駛的，這是她在此次航程中首次掌舵。

調查者中，一個不願透露姓名的船員妻子引述她的丈夫話說：“我應該死在那裏。”

“他告訴我，交接班後，那時他正在休息。他從牀上滾下來，掙扎着打開房間的門後逃出。他說他沒有去駕駛室與其它船員碰面。最後岸警衛隊發現了他，他因此而獲救。

“我的丈夫與其他船員並不和睦，但他告訴我李船長是個平易近人、沉着冷靜的人。他說李船長和其他人不一樣：雖然他也抽菸，但他喝酒不多。”