Messages from a sinking ship

As the ferry sank, some of the students reached out to their parents via text messages

As a South Korean ferry came to a shuddering halt and rapidly began to sink, some of those on board sent harrowing text messages to their loved ones.With almost 300 people still unaccounted for one day after the accident, reports of desperate text messages from some of those trapped on board have surfaced in local media. 

 

"This might be the last chance to say I love you," one student named as Shin Young-Jin is reported to have texted his mother."Why's that," his mother texted back, clearly unaware of the crisis engulfing the vessel. "I love you anyway."According to the Korea Herald, he was among the 179 people rescued from the ship so far. 'Ship is too tilted'But other parents who received such messages have not been reunited with their children. Another exchange between one student and her father was recounted by the AFP news agency and local media:

Student: "Dad, don't worry. I'm wearing a life vest and am with other girls. We're inside the ship, still in the hallway."
Father: "I know that the rescue is under way, but shouldn't you be waiting outside the rail? Try to get out if you can."
Student: "The ship is too tilted. The hallway is crowded with so many people."
The student who sent these messages remains unaccounted for.

Anguished family members have been gathering at the port in Jindo

In another text exchange widely published on South Korean media a student texted his older brother as the ship ran into trouble.
Student: "The ship ran into something and it's not moving. They say the coast guard just arrived."
Brother: "Don't panic. Just do what you are told to do and then you will be fine".
But there was no further communication after that.

Survivor: "There was an announcement telling us to sit still, but the ferry was already sinking"

Some parents were able to stay in touch with their children on the phone until lines were cut off. Park Yu-Shin, whose daughter is among the missing, told the AFP news agency that she talked to her daughter as she was coping with the emergency.

"She was telling me: 'We're putting on our life vests. They're telling us to wait and stay put, so we're waiting...I can see a helicopter", Ms Park said. Her daughter is still among the missing.
Reports that messages have been received from students still trapped inside the ferry have not been verified.'I wanted to live'It is not yet clear what caused the ferry, carrying mainly school students, to sink, but survivors gave similar accounts of a catastrophic event at around 09:00 (00:00 GMT). A picture of the fear and chaos on board has also been vividly drawn.

There were many young people on board the vessel

Escape was hindered by the severe listing of the ship

Anxious relatives of those on board gathered to await news

"There was a really loud noise and then the boat immediately began to shift to one side," said rescued passenger, Kim Song-Muk."People were scrambling to get to the upper decks, but it was difficult with the deck slanted over."

Student, Lim Hyung-min, told how he he jumped into the ocean wearing a life jacket with other youngsters and then swam to a nearby rescue boat.

"As the ferry was shaking and tilting, we all tripped and bumped into each another,'' Lim said, adding that some people were bleeding.
Once he jumped, the ocean "was so cold... I was hurrying, thinking that I wanted to live".
Pictures from the scene showed rescue teams balanced on the sinking hull pulling teenagers from cabin windows as other jumped into the sea as the ship went down.
Tales of heroism Other survivors have criticised the evacuation procedures.
Passenger Koo Bon-hee, 36, told the Associated Press news agency that many people were trapped inside by windows that were too hard to break. He wanted to escape earlier but an announcement said passengers should stay put.
"The rescue wasn't done well. We were wearing life jackets. We had time,'' Koo, who was on a business trip to Jeju with a co-worker, said from a hospital bed in Mokpo where he was treated for minor injuries.
"If people had jumped into the water ... they could have been rescued. But we were told not to go out."
Another survivor told local television: "The announcement told us that we should stay still, but the ship was already sinking and there were a lot of students who did not get out of the ship."

Rescue efforts are still under way at the site of the accident

Kim Seong-mok told YTN that he was "certain" many people were trapped inside the ship as water quickly filled up inside and the severe tilt of the ferry kept them from reaching the exits.
But tales of heroism on board as the vessel began to sink have also emerged.
One crew member, named as 22-year-old Park Ji-young, is said to have lost her life while struggling to make sure passengers on the upper floors of the ferry wore life jackets and found their way out.
"I repeatedly asked her why she did not first wear a life jacket. Park just said she would get out of the ship after making sure that all passengers were out," a survivor told local media.
"Park pushed shocked passengers toward the exit even when the water was up to her chest."
The Korea Herald reports that she joined the ferry company in 2012 to earn money to support her family. When her body arrived at hospital, the paper reports, her mother cried: "I can't believe you left us".

Growing desperation, anger as search for South Korean ferry survivors continues

Like the fog that continued Friday to envelop the perilous search-and-rescue zone, rising anger and desperation shrouded those waiting for word on their loved ones still trapped on a capsized South Korean ferry.Those massing on the dock in the Jindo, South Korea, harbor -- about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from where the five-story ship sank -- were not giving up, especially after authorities granted the possibility some if not all the 271 missing people could have survived thanks to air pockets two days after the vessel's sinking.

Yet Thursday's search, and the still dreary conditions on Friday, didn't give them much hope.

No survivors were rescued over a 24-hour period, during which time U.S. Navy Capt. Heidi Agle said two Navy helicopters equipped with special radars could only fly a few hours due to the poor weather. Divers in the water battled against strong currents, frigid water temperatures in the 50s (10 to 15 Celsius) and general murkiness that made seeing, much less rescuing anyone, challenging.

"It's extremely difficult," Agle, who said the Navy helicopters were from a U.S. carrier nearby, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "There are heavy currents in the area, so the vessel itself is not stable in the water. So you are, by default, putting divers at risk... There are many, many things that are working against them."It's a different kind of struggle for those in Jindo, many of them the parents of more than 300 Seoul high school students who'd been heading to a four-day island holiday.

Wearing ponchos to fend off rain, some of them could be heard crying in the face of the grim situation. Others expressed anger at information such as the fact few of the ferry's lifeboats were deployed, and reports that its captain -- shortly after loudspeaker announcements had urged passengers to go to their cabins deep inside the ship -- was among the first off the ship.

From the dock, the relatives made loud and clear they wanted him to give them answers

They chanted, "Captain, come out."

He didn't talk directly to them, but ferry Capt. Lee Joon Suk did emerge Thursday at a South Korean Coast Guard office. His head and face covered, he broke down in tears when reporters asked him if he had anything to say.Lee managed only, "I am sorry, I am at a loss for words."

25 confirmed dead; hundreds still missing As of Friday morning, the east Asian island nation's coast guard reported 25 confirmed dead. There are fears that toll could spike as time passes, with the prospect of hypothermia and lack of oxygen doing in those that might have made it past when the ship initially turned over. 

At least 179 people were able to make it off in time.Authorities continued to operate under the assumption there are more survivors, hoping that trapped passengers found pockets of air. Images show parts of the hull visible above water and presumably not flooded.

"Absolutely, there could be areas in there where there is breathable air, but the trouble right now is the temperature and getting people to them," Mike Dean, the U.S. Navy deputy director for salvage and diving, told "CNN Tonight."More than 170 ships and more than 500 divers have swarmed the ferry site, though they are hampered by relentless rain, whipping winds and thick fog in addition to strong currents and murky waters. 

Three divers who joined the search went missing in high tide but were later found, CNN affiliate YTN reported. And efforts to pump air into the ship failed because of the bad weather.

More such attempts to pump in air are expected Friday. Authorities are "leaning toward" using a crane to raise the vessel, according to Kim Soo Hyeon, the chief of South Korea's Yellow Sea Maritime Police Agency.

Two cranes had arrived at the scene early Friday, with a third scheduled to be there later in the day.

Can they survive in air pockets?

Still, there was no guarantee any of those efforts would lead to rescues.

Despite government assurances that rescuers would work around the clock to save lives, some relatives were angry about the pace of the operation."If the government cares for the people, our family, our children, please rescue our families and our children," said Chang Min, whose second-grade son is among the missing.

Passengers told 'don't move'

One factor seemingly working against a miracle is that most passenger bedrooms are on the fourth level of the five-floor boat, which is now upside down. Divers tried at least six times to enter the submerged cabins but were unable to get in, Kim said.

Surviving passengers told YTN that --as the ship began to list sharply about the same time as loud banging sounds were heard -- they were urged to stay put.

"Don't move," a voice warned, according to a recording obtained by YTN. "If you move, it's dangerous. Don't move."

Student Lim Hyung Min, who was rescued, told YTN he heard a bang before the ship began to list.

"The students were falling over and crashing into things and bleeding," Lim said.

Rescue helicopters plucked some passengers from the ship as the vessel lay on its side before capsizing. Crews of fishing boats and military ships that raced to the scene in a heavily used sea lane pulled others from the water.

Few passengers made it to lifeboats.Social media video acquired by CNN affiliate JTBC showed at least 12 of the white survival capsules still attached to the ferry even as it was keeled over in the water.It was unclear, however, exactly how many lifeboats had deployed. Initial reports from YTN said it was one, but the JTBC video shows what appears to be two lifeboats next to the ship.

CNN has not been able to independently confirm the reports.

Apology, but no answer as to what happened

Why did it happen? South Korean media has reported investigators are probing the possibility the ship may have taken a sharp turn, causing vehicles and cargo aboard to shift and forcing the ship off balance.

Lao Farmers Block Chinese Developer From Surveying Land for Airport Project

A Chinese developer is moving to seize additional land from farmers in northern Laos for the construction of an international airport as part of a casino complex, according to the farmers who have prevented the developer from carrying out any survey work in the area.

The rare standoff last week marks the second time in three months that the rice farmers from Thonepheung district in Bokeo province stood firm as policemen armed with AK-47 assault rifles moved to enforce an order by the King Romans (Dok Ngiew Kham) Group to develop the land.

King Romans originally wanted to take 236 hectares (583 acres) from 46 farmer families in six villages in return for compensation well below market value, but last week the developer announced plans to extend the area required for the project by an additional six hectares (15 acres).

Angered by the potential loss of additional rice fields, the farmers on April 3 prevented King Romans officials from measuring out the new parcel of land under the protection of armed guards, villagers told RFA’s Lao Service recently.

They said that farmers angrily shouted: “Don’t measure! Don’t measure! Stop! Stop!” as the officials attempted to set up their equipment to survey the land.

While the confrontation occurred, villagers said, officials took pictures of the farmers, but would not allow themselves to be photographed, prompting one woman to ask, “Why do the officials have the right to take our photos?”

After a prolonged standoff during which the villagers refused to retreat, the situation was resolved when police and developer officials pledged to forgo the additional land confiscation, though the villagers said they remain on edge.

Citizen video of the standoff was posted on several social media sites after the confrontation, garnering support from sympathetic netizens.

Villagers said that officials are now working to get them to accept compensation for the original parcel of land by the start of the Lao New Year on April 13 and have been “keeping a close eye” on the farmers.

The 46 families have refused compensation from King Romans of around 100,000 Thai baht (U.S. $3,100) per rai (less than half an acre) of land, according to officials, and farmers contend that the rice fields to be taken for the project are valued at more than three times that amount.

The rice fields covering 235.6 hectares are part of 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) granted by Lao authorities to King Romans for the development of the airport, as well as golf courses and entertainment projects.

Inadequate compensation

Villagers told RFA that the compensation will not be enough for them to purchase the amount of farmland necessary to meet their needs, but that authorities have threatened those who do not accept the package with imprisonment.

“We need to get more compensation so that we can buy new plots of land, but the company and government officials do not accept our demands,” one villager told RFA, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Reasonable compensation needs to be made because the value of land never decreases,” he said.

Another villager, who also asked not to be named, said that the government was breaking the law in supporting King Romans’ interests, which center on the casino-driven Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project, almost exclusively catering to Chinese investors.

“Legally, rice field land must not be developed for other purposes, but the officials are flouting the law,” he said.

“It is not the people who are wrong, it is the officials.”

An official told RFA that the exact amount of compensation had not been settled yet.

“We have not paid compensation yet,” he said, adding, “We are measuring the area and collecting information and then we will compensate the villagers.”

Villagers have suggested that King Romans has pushed for district officials to move quickly on the airport land because Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad, who has backed the project, is expected to retire next year.

They accused the local authorities of being on the company’s payroll and rewarded according to the amount of land they can secure.

SEZ project

The one-party Lao communist government in 2007 conceded to King Romans 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of land—3,000 hectares (7,410 acres) of which are dedicated to the SEZ—for 99 years, with the objective of promoting trade, investment, and tourism.

The SEZ, which is tax exempt, began construction in the early 2000s and now includes an international border checkpoint and river port, the King Romans Casino, hotels, and a Chinatown market with as many as 70 restaurants and shops selling a variety of retail goods.

Plans for the international airport project—which will affect the villages of Phonehom, Donmoun, Phiengyam, Mokkachok, Khouan and Sibouheung—were not made public until early 2013, after the Lao government signed a memorandum of understanding with the company.

In January, the farmers defied orders to vacate their land, standing in front of bulldozers sent to flatten their rice fields and forcing armed police deployed by King Romans to retreat.

According to sources, King Romans had attempted to clear the land in 2012 but the villagers resisted, although the police were not called in at that time.

Cambodian Court Convicts 13 Over 'Plot to Topple Government'

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A Cambodian court convicted 13 people of plotting to overthrow the government in a case slammed by rights groups as politically motivated and part of Prime Minister Hun Sen's strategy of using the judiciary to discredit the opposition.

The 13 were linked to a little-known Denmark-based group called the Khmer National Liberation Front (KNLF) whose "main goal is to create an armed force to topple the government," Judge Seng Neang of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said.

Only seven of the accused appeared in court while the others, including KNLF chief Sam Serey, were sentenced in absentia.

Sam Serey, a resettled Cambodian refugee who resides in Denmark, was sentenced to nine years in jail, while the others were handed sentences ranging from five to eight years.

The seven, some of whom were Buddhist monks at the time of their arrest in neighboring Thailand last year, protested the verdict, shouting in court that it was "unjust."

Bomb links

Judge Seng Neang said the KNLF had set up an armed force based in Thailand and planned to explode bombs at government buildings in Cambodia but the seven hit out at the court for arriving at the verdict without any evidence or witnesses.

The verdict was based on a one-day trial for the 13 who had been charged with “opposing the nation” by “treacherously plotting” to conduct insurrectionary attacks liable to endanger Cambodia’s state institutions or violate its national integrity.

“Yet during the trial no evidence of a crime committed by any of the accused was presented,” U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Thursday.

It noted that while the detainees were still under investigation, Hun Sen had spoken about the KNLF case at a campaign rally for his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in Prey Veng province.

Opposition links rejected

Hun Sen had alleged that “armed rebels” and “terrorists” — including organizers of the KNLF — were hiding within the main opposition party, the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP).

The CNRP has denied any links to the 13 defendants.

“The conviction of any of these 13 defendants will not be proof of guilt but rather of Hun Sen’s control over Cambodia’s courts to weaken the opposition with false accusations,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“No one should be sentenced to prison to serve Hun Sen’s political agenda,” he said.

Crimes against humanity

Sam Serey, speaking to RFA’s Khmer Service from Denmark, rejected claims that his movement was involved in violence, saying it was mainly gathering documents to back charges against Hun Sen for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.

“The front is working to liberate people to have freedom and democracy,” he said. “I am not surprised about the conviction because everything is so unjust for Cambodians.”

“Our goal is to seek justice based on international law. We want the international community to pressure the government to bring about freedom. We don’t use violence to topple the government.”

'Tortured'

Minority Rights Organization (MIRO) Director Ang Chanrith also questioned the conviction of the 13.

“Based on testimonies [of those present in court], they all rejected the confession document produced by the police. They said that they were tortured during questioning and police forced them to thumbprint their names against their confession,” he said.

He said that the court failed to prove that the KNLF was involved in any violent actions.

Date to be determined

Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday that he and opposition leader Sam Rainsy had “agreed in principle” that the next election could be held five months early, in February 2018, but that Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy leader Kem Sokha was holding up a deal.
Rainsy, whose party called a press conference in response, denied that he had agreed to a February election date and rejected speculation that any rift had emerged between him and Sokha, who is currently in the United States.He added that without Sokha’s presence in Cambodia – he said the deputy leader could be out of the country for 10 more days – no agreement could be signed, dampening hopes that Rainsy and Hun Sen could ink a deal at the Royal Palace today.

“I would like to share some facts of the conversation [with Sam Rainsy]… We have agreed in principle to hold the next general election in February 2018, but Rainsy said he needed to consult with his deputy Kem Sokha,” the premier said yesterday at a ceremony for graduating students of the National Institute for Education, referring to a 45-minute phone conversation the pair had on Wednesday.“I told him to write this down: The commune election will be held in February 2017 and then the national election will be held in February 2018. This is in the draft [agreement], so [we] agreed together on this word already.”He was later informed by Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng that Sokha disagreed with the proposal, Hun Sen said.
“When the president agrees and the deputy president disagrees, I don’t understand.… Letting excellency Kem Sokha veto does not seem very good, [so] excellency Sam Rainsy should persuade excellency Kem Sokha 

“I told [Rainsy] that [he] is the president. So [he] should tell Kem Sokha not to be so obstinate.… If there is no agreement signed, it is not the fault of Hun Sen or the CPP or Sam Rainsy or his working group. It is the fault of Kem Sokha.”Hun Sen also threatened to release a recording of his conversation with Rainsy if the opposition denied his claims.“I have also reminded him please don’t make any statement which is different to what we have talked about.… If a wrong statement is issued, it will force me to leak a recording [of our conversation].”The premier then proceeded to play a brief segment of an audio recording, ostensibly of his phone conversation with Rainsy, in which the CNRP leader could be heard greeting Hun Sen for Khmer New Year.

CNRP deputy president Kem Sokha shakes hands with Prime Minister Hun Sen at the National Assembly last year. Heng ChivoanRainsy told reporters yesterday that his party had rejected a February 2018 election date in talks with Hun Sen because it was not early enough, adding that any deal made with the CPP would have to be agreed to and signed by both CNRP leaders.

“Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy are one person. So [the CNRP] cannot let Sam Rainsy do anything without Kem Sokha and cannot let Kem Sokha do anything without Sam Rainsy,” he said, brushing aside speculation that a rift had emerged between the two leaders over the election date.
“There is no way to split us in any way.”He added that his party would continue to push for an election at least a year earlier than currently scheduled.“They moved closer, earlier, by five months to February 2018, and we replied to them that this is not enough; we want the election to be earlier, at least one year earlier, because originally we asked for mid-term. Mid-term would be early 2016,” he said.

“February 2018 is still in 2018. So citizens do not agree, and I also cannot accept this.
“We have to make a compromise, if each party makes one step towards the other, we can find common ground, and I am still hopeful that in the very near future, in the coming days or weeks, we will reach that common ground.”On Wednesday, speaking via phone, Kem Sokha said he wanted an election in February 2016. But he added that both parties needed to be “flexible”.On that same day, Rainsy announced that he and Hun Sen had reached an agreement regarding a complete overhaul of the National Election Committee and the process by which its members are appointed.The CNRP and election watchdogs have long argued that NEC reform is needed for a future vote to be “free and fair”.

Both parties have remained tight-lipped as to any other aspects of what they have agreed on, aside from a possible television licence for the CNRP.Rainsy said yesterday that concessions such as the leadership of the National Assembly were “mentioned in the draft agreement”, and did not deny that he personally could replace Heng Samrin as assembly president.“I cannot confirm that, but I can tell you that this is not the point, this is not the stumbling block. The stumbling block now is the date of the election.”

Veteran political pundit Lao Mong Hay yesterday said that Hun Sen was trying to play “the divide and rule strategy” in implying that Sokha was holding back an agreement.
“If I were Sam Rainsy, I would tell Prime Minister Hun Sen: ‘Don’t poke your nose into our internal affairs. Mind your own business.'”He added that he did not think there was much validity to claims of internal discord, and, on the contrary to Hun Sen’s claims that Sokha was a hard-liner, “in the past, Kem Sokha used to be more subservient to the CPP”.“These days, perhaps, the CPP is [even] more divided than the CNRP,” he said.

Poor selling kidneys to pay off debt

Mr. Ho Van Tranh with the incision to take his kidney.

According to the authorities of Thanh Phu Commune, Co Do District, Can Tho City, in the past two years they have received dozens of applications from local people for kidney donations. The applicants are generally poor and have large debts.Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, a local official, says these people asked for the local government’s confirmation for kidney donation but in fact they sold their kidneys to strangers to have money to pay debt. In many cases, the local government only learned about the kidney donations after they had already been conducted.

After the Lunar New Year, Mr. Le Van Gion, a farmer in Hamlet 6 of Thanh Phu Commune, submitted his kidney donation application to the commune authorities. In the application, Gion said he would go to Hanoi to donate his kidney to a relative.“We did not confirm this petition, as well as other similar ones on kidney donation. But then Gion left home and he has not returned yet," Hoa says.According to Gion’s family, they do not know where he is and what he is doing because he has not contacted them since he left home. Previously, Gion used to leave home for a long time to do business."He left home because of the Lunar New Year. He had a conflct with someone in the commune. These people threatened to beat him,” Gion’s father explains.

In Hamlet 6, Mr. Ho Van Tranh, 43, donated a kidney for VND120 million ($6,000). Tranh says because of a debt he owes, he donated his kidney for money three months ago.
"The one who received my kidney is a man named Nguyen Quoc Loi, from HCM City, but I do not know his address. Loi helped me get a job when I was in HCM to avoid my creditors. He said both of his kidneys had failed and he was seeking a kidney donor. I took blood tests and our bloods are of the same type, so I gave him my kidney and he gave me some money,” Tranh says.
Tranh says he has not kept contact with Loi so he does not know Loi’s situation now. When he was in hospital after the surgery, some strangers told him to seek kidney sellers in his hometown to earn a commission.

Police begin investigation
On the day Tranh came home with the money from his sold kidney, his mother cried.
"If I had known about this, I would have stopped him from selling his kidney. He is very weak now. He cannot do anything arduous and his limbs keep trembling all the time," she says.
Says Tranh, "If I could do it again, I would not have donated my kidney. I would not encourage anyone to sell his kidney," Tranh says. He life now depends mainly on his wife.
Two years ago, Mr. Danh Lang, also in Hamlet 6, sold his kidney through a middleman for a price of VND150 million ($7,500).

"I paid the middleman VND5 million ($250). He took care of all the formalities. I only had to follow him to the hospital,” Danh Lang says.Since that day, Danh Lang’s health has deteriorated day by day. He spent all the money earned from his kidney and is now at risk of debt again because he needs money to treat his diseases.Not only Hamlet 6, but other hamlets of Thanh Phu Commune have many people selling their kidneys, but they have not let the local authorities know.
Responding to this apparent trend, the police of Co Do District launched an in
vestigation on April 8 to determine whether there is a criminal ring luring local people into selling their kidneys.
In a recent report to the Director of Can Tho City Police, Co Do District Police claimed to have identified at least eight locals who had sold their kidney. Each had received VND120 million. In particular, five people in the same family all sold their kidneys. However, all of them had fulfilled the legal formalities for kidney donation.