News Stories

[TinyRedLeaf]

Nearly 300 missing after South Korean ferry sinks

Seoul (April 16, Wed): Almost 300 people remain unaccounted for after a ferry carrying some 460 people capsized and sank off South Korea.

The ferry, carrying mainly high-school students, was travelling from the port of Incheon, in the north-west, to the southern resort island of Jeju.

A major rescue effort is under way, using dozens of ships and helicopters.

Two people are known to have died and at least 13 others have been injured, reports say.

South Korean officials had earlier said that 368 people had been plucked to safety, but later said there had been a counting error.

They have now revised down the number rescued to 164. Officials also revised down the number of people on the ferry from 476.

Images showed the ferry listing at a severe angle and then later almost completely submerged, with only a small part of its hull visible.

It sank within two hours of sending a distress signal, reports said.

Several coast guard, military and commercial vessels were involved in the rescue effort, which unfolded rapidly on Wednesday morning.

BBC

What originally seemed to be a successful rescue operation has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. To put it into perspective, the number of people who are now reportedly missing exceeds that of the still-missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370, which had 239 passengers and crew on board.

[maplehurry]

325 of the passengers were high school students from the same school...

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

Did Putin Blow Up the Whole Polish Government in 2010? A Second Look.:

"Four years ago this week, Polish President Lech Kaczynski was killed in a plane
crash near the Katyn Forest in Russia where he was flying to honor the 22,000
Polish officers, lawyers, priests and professors slaughtered there by the Soviets
70 years before. Ninety-five other military, political and public figures including his
wife died on that plane. One of the more heartbreaking details to emerge was
that First Lady Maria Kaczynska’s body could be identified only by her nail polish
and the inscription inside her wedding ring.

Less than two years before the crash the late president had given a speech
warning that if Russian aggression was not stopped in Georgia, which Russia had
invaded, it would extend to Ukraine, the Baltics, and possibly Poland as well. “We
are here to take up the fight,” he said. And many Poles still believe that their
president died in the cause of that effort. Physicist Kazimierz Nowaczyk is one of
them."


"The plane’s black boxes, laptops, sensitive documents, mobile phones, address
books, telephone numbers, correspondence, and the top-secret military, NATO
and diplomatic codes on board were salvaged from crash site immediately by the
Kremlin’s operatives in what was a “coup for Russia’s intelligence service”
according to retired CIA analyst Gene Poteat. What Nowaczyk calls “years worth
of work for security services” was completed in a single day by Russia’s OMON
Special Purpose Police, which were immediately deployed to the site."

See:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...cond-look.html

Also on the same news piece...

Earlier this week—on April 8, 2014—Polskie Radio reported that the Polish District Military Prosecutor in Warsaw, Colonel Ireneusz Szelag, presented 1,300 pages of documentation, in advance of the four-year anniversary, ruling out “any possibility that an explosion occurred aboard the Polish presidential plane that crashed in Smolensk on 10 April 2010.” The prosecutor stated, “After analysing 700 samples, experts found no traces that an explosion had taken place aboard the Tu-154 plane… The experts had unimpeded access to the site of the catastrophe, and to the place where the wreck of the plane is being stored.” The prosecutor stated that the investigation would be closed next year, even if the aircraft’s wreckage is not returned to Poland.

Not only Putin blew up the plane, but he also already taken over Polish District Military Prosecutor?

And since only one third of Polish actually believed there was a possibility that their president had been assassinated, that means two third of Poland already fell to Russia!! Quickly, rebuild the Berlin wall to stop the Russians before it's too late!!!

Edit: oh wait i thought this is the silly news thread

[HasuMasu]

I'm in highschool right now, so that ferry sinking...I don't know it feels wierd...

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Nearly 300 missing after South Korean ferry sinks


What originally seemed to be a successful rescue operation has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. To put it into perspective, the number of people who are now reportedly missing exceeds that of the still-missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370, which had 239 passengers and crew on board.

Ship disasters tend to have more casualties than aerial ones, since they can carry a lot more people. Wonder what happened, the ship was not overloaded and the sky was clear....
Hopefully not many people lost but considering that the ship went down and there's still a few hundred unaccounted for...

[Xefi]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Nearly 300 missing after South Korean ferry sinks


What originally seemed to be a successful rescue operation has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. To put it into perspective, the number of people who are now reportedly missing exceeds that of the still-missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370, which had 239 passengers and crew on board.

wow...that really suck. just some other days a Fedex truck
ran into a school bus full of high school students and exploded. and
now, a ferry sinks with more dead students. my hope & prayer to the survivors.

this is also one reason why i hated going on ships. beside my phobia of sharks, drowning
is also really terrible way to die.

[SaintessHeart]

There is probably something wrong with the ferry or how the capsize drill being carried out. The water is not deep, it is near to land, so how can 100+ just disappear?

[Tiberium Wolf]

Maybe a North Korea submarine bumped into it.

[Tom Bombadil]

Originally Posted by Tiberium Wolf

Maybe a North Korea submarine bumped into it.

I know you are most likely joking. But (HYPOTHETICALLY) if a north Korean submarine is able to go to that region where the accident happened, then there is something seriously wrong with the defense of the South.

Condolence to the grieving parents. A whole school district is wrecked by this disaster.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

There is probably something wrong with the ferry or how the capsize drill being carried out. The water is not deep, it is near to land, so how can 100+ just disappear?

Stuck in the hulk most likely...

That's why I will never go below deck if it's not an overnight cruise. At least you can jump clear if something goes wrong

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

There is probably something wrong with the ferry or how the capsize drill being carried out. The water is not deep, it is near to land, so how can 100+ just disappear?

The ferry, before it sank, was turned on its side and then became upsidedown. It is entirely possible that most of the missing are still inside the ship, which is why they are trying to cut them out with navy divers.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Stuck in the hulk most likely...

That's why I will never go below deck if it's not an overnight cruise. At least you can jump clear if something goes wrong

When you do a sea jump, you have to adjust for water density and jump technique. The pressure change can force your capillaries to explode, discounting the fact that the impact on water can actually break your bones.

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

The ferry, before it sank, was turned on its side and then became upsidedown. It is entirely possible that most of the missing are still inside the ship, which is why they are trying to cut them out with navy divers.

Then didn't they have a capsize or abandon ship drill? Even with a small motorboat, capsize/abandon drills were taught.

Unless you tell me that the drill is "put on life jacket and stay below deck". Which is wrong when internationally, it is "seek higher ground in an orderly manner" for big ships like cargo carriers.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

When you do a sea jump, you have to adjust for water density and jump technique. The pressure change can force your capillaries to explode, discounting the fact that the impact on water can actually break your bones.

That's why you jump over when the ship is sinking lower...and pray the ship doesn't come down on top of you

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Nearly 300 missing after South Korean ferry sinks


What originally seemed to be a successful rescue operation has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. To put it into perspective, the number of people who are now reportedly missing exceeds that of the still-missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370, which had 239 passengers and crew on board.

Talk about a kick in the nuts. To have to announce the number of rescuees going down so much...

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

That's why you jump over when the ship is sinking lower...and pray the ship doesn't come down on top of you

Or drag you down, if it's a big ship.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Then didn't they have a capsize or abandon ship drill? Even with a small motorboat, capsize/abandon drills were taught.

The information is sketchy. But it was said that the passengers were TOLD to stay in their seats, while the (temp) Captain ran away first. The passengers only realised their ship is sinking when they read the news on their phones. At that point it is too late to get to the topdeck. People were simply trapped once the ship tipped over.

Edit: Here is a Japanese report that showed how it went down:

NicoNico

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm23342970

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

But it was said that the passengers were TOLD to stay in their seats, while the (temp) Captain ran away first.

What a damned TWAT if that's anywhere true!!!

That could be worth being sued for criminal negligence causing death. Totally unforgivable.

[aohige]

Oh geez.
That would make this that-Italian-captain mess 2.0.

[Tiberium Wolf]

Now in the news that only 1 out of 46 lifeboats were deployed.

[Tom Bombadil]

Not strictly news, but somewhat relevant.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-27051731

The US, Russian and Chinese presidents get the scripts for their speeches confused. So Barack Obama makes a speech about territorial integrity, Vladimir Putin about inalienable human rights and Xi Jinping ends up talking about the war on terror.

[Sugetsu]

The first earth-like planet has just been found: http://www.latimes.com/science/scien...,7889576.story

This artist's illustration shows Kepler-186f, the first confirmed Earth-sized planet found in its star's habitable zone, where water -- a necessary ingredient for life -- could potentially exist. (N ASA Ames/SETI Institute/JPL - Caltech / April 17, 2014)

This is very exciting news, at least for me.