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S Korea Leader: Ferry Captain's Actions 'Murderous'

CBN

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South Korea's president is calling the actions of the captain and some of the crew of the sunken ferry "unforgivable, murderous acts."

Capt. Lee Joon-seok, who was arrested Saturday, initially told passengers to stay in their rooms and waited more than half an hour to issue an evacuation order, despite directives from shore to start much sooner.

Video also shows he was among the first to escape the vessel and receive medical assistance on shore.

Prosecutors said Lee and two crew members have been arrested on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need.

"The conduct of the captain and some crew members is unfathomable from the viewpoint of common sense, and it was like an act of murder that cannot and should not be tolerated," South Korean President Park Geun-hye said at a cabinet briefing Monday.

"Right after the accident, the captain did not immediately follow the evacuation orders of the Jindo Vessel Traffic Services Centre," she continued. "Legally and ethically this is an unimaginable act."

Divers entered the sunken vessel over the weekend. So far, at least 87 bodies have been recovered and about 240 are still missing.

Bodies are being identified visually, but family members are providing DNA samples in case decomposition makes that impossible.

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