Korean authorities admit independent divers are more capable...

[DiveExplorer]

Link: Korean authorities admit independent divers are more capable (VIDEO) - cDiver

The divers who successfully pumped air into the sunken Sewol-ho ferry and entered the second deck to search for survivors were neither Navy nor Coast Guard divers — they were divers working for private companies.

Currently, hundreds of private divers are helping out in the rescue operations. And the Coast Guard admits that these divers are better.
“We have to say that divers from private companies are more able to search the ship underwater and also in rescue operations.”
The other advantage they have is the quality of their equipment.

Private divers are using remote-controlled submersibles and other high-tech gear that allow them to communicate and breathe at the same time.
This equipment, experts say, is far more developed than the ones used by the Navy.

Families awaiting news on their missing loved ones are demanding to know why private divers have not actively been taking part in each and every stage of the search-and-rescue operation.

They point to what they say is a lack of cooperation between the Navy and the Coast Guard, and the private divers from the very beginning of the search.

Video is also here..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZgM8aSTupo

 

[DiveExplorer]

BBC News - South Korea ferry: Divers find 48 bodies in single room

25 April 2014 Last updated at 15:16 GMTShare this page


South Korea ferry: Divers find 48 bodies in single room

Officials say rescue teams are recovering around 30 bodies a day from the wreckage
Continue reading the main storySouth Korea ferry

• Grim recovery
• Unanswered questions
• Harrowing messages
• Panic and hope

Divers searching a sunken passenger ferry off South Korea found 48 bodies in a single room on the vessel meant to accommodate 38 people, officials say.
The group was crammed into a dormitory and all were wearing lifejackets, a South Korean Navy officer said.
Some 183 bodies have been recovered from the Sewol, but scores of people are missing, presumed drowned.
The head of the operation to retrieve bodies said on Friday he had "no idea" how long the ship search would take.
There were 476 people on board, with many trapped inside as the ferry listed and sank within two hours of distress signals being sent. A total of 174 passengers were rescued.

Around 90 expert divers are part of the operation but only 35 of the 111 rooms have been searched so far
Many of those who died or are presumed dead were students and teachers from Danwon high school, south of Seoul.
Furious relatives attacked the speed of the recovery operation on Friday in a confrontation with the fisheries minister and the coastguard chief.
'It's very stressful'In a briefing to reporters on the southern island of Jindo, Navy Captain Kim Jin-Hwang described the difficult conditions that the divers were facing.
He said one group had found the single dormitory room filled with the bodies of 48 students wearing lifejackets. The presence of so many victims in the cabin suggested many had run into the room when the ship tilted, correspondents said.
"It's very stressful," Kim said, adding that the divers were all too aware of criticism over the speed of the search.

President Obama proposed holding a moment of silence to honour the victims of the ferry disaster
Retrieving the bodies was far harder than finding them, he said, with divers unable to spend much longer than 10 minutes inside the ship at a time.
"Just imagine a room that is flipped," one of the divers told the Associated Press news agency. "Everything is floating around, and it's hard to know exactly where they are."
On a visit to Seoul on Friday, US President Barack Obama expressed his condolences for South Korea's "incredible loss" and offered America's solidarity.
"So many were young students with their entire lives ahead of them," Mr Obama said. "I can only imagine what the parents are going through at the moment - the incredible heartache."
Officials said rescuers are retrieving around 30 bodies a day but the bereaved families have demanded that all remaining bodies are removed from the ferry before the weekend.

Relatives of passengers who died or remain missing are furious at the slow speed of the search operation
Search officials said just 35 of the 111 rooms had been searched so far.
The government says it is "mobilising all available resources" towards the rescue effort but bad weather and stronger currents due on Saturday and Sunday are expected to hamper their efforts.
Prosecutors are said to be investigating whether modifications made to the ferry made it more unstable.
Factors under consideration include a turn made around the time the ship began to list, as well as wind, ocean currents and the freight it was carrying.
Reports have emerged indicating that the ship's sleeping cabins were refitted some time between 2012 and 2013, which experts say may have inadvertently affected the balance of the boat.
Investigators on Friday said that life rafts and escape chutes on a sister ship to a sunken ferry were not working properly.
The ferry's captain and 10 crew members have been arrested on charges ranging from criminal negligence to abandoning passengers.
Prosecutors have also raided several businesses affiliated with the ferry operator, the Chonghaejin Marine Company, as part of an overall probe into corrupt management.

 

[DiveExplorer]

And of course this can happen... RIP

[h=1]Civilian diver dies in South Korea ferry search[/h]A civilian diver searching for bodies in the South Korean ferry that sank last month has died, authorities say.
Officials said the 53-year-old, known only by his surname Lee, became unconscious and later died in hospital.
He is the first fatality among divers searching the Sewol ferry, which sank on 16 April with 476 people on board.
Only 174 people survived, with many trapped inside the vessel. So far the disaster has claimed 262 lives, with 40 others missing.
State news agency Yonhap reported that Mr Lee was a veteran crew member of Undine Marine Industries, which specialises in maritime engineering and rescue work.
He had lost consciousness shortly after diving into waters 25m deep in the early hours of Tuesday.
Fellow divers lost communication with him five minutes into his dive and later pulled him to the surface. It was his first search attempt in the Sewol, according to the authorities.
Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has since ordered government officials overseeing the rescue operation to thoroughly check divers' health conditions.

Last week, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won consoled relatives of passengers

Divers have been working in difficult conditions to retrieve bodies from the ferry

Out of the 476 people on the South Korean ferry, only 174 survived
Divers have been battling bad weather and fast currents to retrieve bodies over the past three weeks. Inside the ferry, they must also navigate floating debris and the maze of corridors, reports say.
Yonhap said another civilian diver, aged 31, fell unconscious last week after diving four times before daybreak.
Several others have also been treated at hyperbaric oxygen therapy centres.
Authorities said divers were now working their way to the last three unopened rooms next to a snack bar on the ferry's third floor.
But they did not expect to find many bodies there as they were not occupied by the high school students who were the majority of the passengers, a spokesman said. Divers would also recheck areas previously searched.
Earlier this week, workers put out more nets around the site to prevent bodies floating away.

 

[Jared0425]

What do they mean by "civilian"? Like run of the mill scuba or like a volunteer fire/ems/police divers?

 

[undrwater]

I think civilian as in non-military contractors.

 

[DennisS]

What do they mean by "civilian"? Like run of the mill scuba or like a volunteer fire/ems/police divers?

They mention divers working for private companies, my guess would be commercial divers

 

[DiveExplorer]

What do they mean by "civilian"? Like run of the mill scuba or like a volunteer fire/ems/police divers?

Yes it sounds like he was a commercial diver or some kind of contractor.