SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Three crew members on the sunken South Korean ferry are being designated as martyrs today, for giving their lives to save others as the ship was sinking last month. That means they can be buried in a national cemetery, and their families will be eligible for financial compensation and medical assistance.
A witness has said one of the crew members gave up her life vest to a student who didn’t have one. The two others were recognized for helping passengers escape while they themselves were not rescued.
Fifteen surviving crew members have been arrested on suspicion of negligence. There are also accusations against the ferry’s owner.
For a third day today, bad weather kept divers from searching the sunken vessel. No bodies have been recovered since Friday. Twenty-nine people remain missing, with 275 bodies recovered so far. Most were students from a single high school.
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APPHOTO SEL802: Christians pray near yellow ribbons with messages for the victims and missing passengers of the sunken ferry Sewol, at a port in Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 12, 2014. Bad weather prevented divers from searching inside the sunken, deteriorating South Korean ferry for a third day Monday. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT (12 May 2014)
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