South Korean Ferry Disaster: Sewol Operator Involved in Many Accidents

Family members of passengers missing after the ferry Sewol capsized clash with police in Jindo during a protest calling for a meeting with President Park Geun-hyeReuters

The operator of the South Korean passenger ferry Sewol has been involved in several accidents in recent years, it has emerged.

Amid the latest incident in which 50 people have been confirmed dead and more than 250 others are still missing, the ship's operator, Chonghaejin Marine, is under the spotlight.

The Yonhap news agency, citing earlier records, reported the vessel operator has been involved in maritime accidents at least once in every two or three years. The incidents include engine glitches or collisions with other vessels.

Prior to the present incident, one of the passenger vessels, with 141 people aboard, operated by the company rammed a fishing boat in the Yellow Sea. However, no casualties were reported following the mishap, which took place three weeks before the Sewol disaster.

In February 2013, a 6,322-tonne passenger ship belonging to Chonghaejin was delayed by several hours due to a generator glitch sparking severe protests from passengers.

Meanwhile, the relatives of the passengers of the sunken Sewol have expressed their outrage at the authorities over the rescue operation.

Up to 100 distraught family members of the victims clashed with the police when they attempted to march to Seoul from Jindo island.

A bereaved woman shouted: "Bring me the body so that I can see the face and hug my child."

The 6,825-tonne ship, with 475 passengers, mostly students, was sailing in familiar waters from the mainland port of Incheon to the southern resort of Jeju when disaster struck.

Divers are continuing their operation to enter the submerged hull to retrieve bodies. So far they have pulled out 17 bodies and 253 remain unaccounted for amid little or no hope of survival.