[Salvaging the Sewol] Incompetent Oceans Ministry and the Fiasco Over Bone Fragments from the Sewol

Workers discovered a bone fragment while salvaging the Sewol, stirring hopes of discovering the remains of the missing victims, but it turned out to be the bones of an animal. Initially, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries held an emergency press briefing and announced that it was likely to be the remains of a missing victim, but later changed their statement announcing that the discovered fragments were from an animal.

Sobbing Families: On the afternoon of March 28, when the government announced that they discovered what was believed to be the remains of a missing victim from the Sewol, Bak Eun-mi (left), the mother of Heo Da-yun, and Yi Geum-hui, the mother of Jo Eun-hwa break into tears at the temporary shelter for the families of the missing victims near Paengmok Port in Jindo-gun, Jeollanam-do. However, the remains were later confirmed to be the bones of an animal. Jindo / Yonhap News

Another outrageous fiasco following the ministry's incoherent position on drilling holes into the hull of the Sewol have fueled criticism of the ministry's lack of competence. In particular, the bone fragments were discovered at a site other than the net installed to prevent any losses from the ship, raising concerns that the ministry's measures to prevent anything from escaping the ship may be full of holes.

At around 4:30 p.m. on March 28, the oceans ministry held an emergency press briefing and announced, "At around 11:25 a.m. while preparing to move the Sewol to the New Mokpo Port, we discovered the remains and lost articles, such as shoes, which we believe may belong to the missing victims, on the deck of the semi-submersible vessel." They further elaborated that they discovered a total of six bones, from four to eighteen centimeters long.

However at around 9 p.m. they changed their statement saying that the remains were verified as those of an animal after a site inspection by the National Forensic Service. Officials from the National Forensic Service announced that based on the shape, the bones were likely to be those of a pig. The number of bone fragments was also revised to seven from the previous six. The shoes, which were thought to belong to a missing victim, turned out to be someone's "work shoes."

Eventually, the oceans ministry drove the entire nation into confusion by hastily announcing that the bones were believed to be those of a missing victim, without an expert's opinion. An official from the ministry apologized saying, "We apologize for the chaos and the fiasco."

The ministry believes the bone fragments came from the mud that came out of the open windows of a cabin near the bow of the hull.

The "April 26 Solidarity" said, "The government should immediately reinforce their efforts to prevent any losses on all the openings in the Sewol," and urged, "In particular, they must take action to prevent anything from escaping from the area torn when they lifted the bow and the ramp (freight entrance) in the left side of the stern that was cut."

This day, the National Assembly passed the Special Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Committee for the Investigation of the Sewol Hull, and launched the committee. The committee has the authority to call a witness, report suspects and request an investigation, and will conduct an investigation to identify the cause of the sinking.

▶ 경향신문 SNS [트위터] [페이스북]
▶ [인기 무료만화 보기]

©경향신문(www.khan.co.kr), 무단전재 및 재배포 금지