Week 2--South Korea ferry disaster

South Korea indicts captain, 14 crew over ferry disaster

Fri, May 16, 2014

AP, SEOUL

Prosecutors indicted the captain of sunken South Korean ferry the Sewol and three crew members on homicide charges yesterday, alleging that they failed to carry out their duties to protect passengers in need.

Less serious indictments were issued against the 11 other crew members responsible for navigating the vessel when it tipped over on April 16, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing.

Captain Lee Joon-seok and the other homicide defendants — a first mate, a second mate and the chief engineer — could face the death penalty if convicted, the South Korean Supreme Court said, although no one has been executed in the country since 1997.

The 11 other defendants were indicted for alleged negligence and abandoning passengers in need when the ship sank, prosecutors said.

The indictment was filed yesterday in Gwangju District Court and a trial date will be decided in a few days, according to a court official who requested anonymity due to department rules. The official said all 15 defendants are expected to be tried together.

The 15 indicted crew members were among the first group of people rescued when the Sewol began listing badly and all were arrested last month.

Lee initially told passengers to stay in their cabins and took about 30 minutes to issue an evacuation order, but it is not known if his message was ever conveyed. In a video taken by South Korean coast guard staff, he was seen escaping the ferry in his underwear to a rescue boat while many passengers were still onboard.

After his arrest last month, Lee said he withheld the evacuation order because rescuers had yet to arrive and he feared for the passengers’ safety in the cold water.

The head of the ferry’s owner, Chonghaejin Marine Co Ltd, and four other company employees have also been arrested. Authorities suspect improper stowage and overloading of cargo may have contributed to the disaster.

Rescuers have so far retrieve 284 bodies and 20 others are listed as missing. Only 172 people, including 22 of the ship’s 29 crew, survived. Most of the victims were students from a high school near Seoul. Family members of the missing are still camping out at a port waiting for news.

Underwater searches for the bodies have been hampered by strong currents and bad weather, with one civilian diver dying after falling unconscious in a search.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/05/16/2003590495

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-Prosecutors.the captain of sunken South Korean ferry.three crew members

   WHEN-yesterday

   WHAT-Prosecutors indicted the captain of sunken South Korean ferry the Sewol and three crew members on homicide charges yesterday

   WHY- alleging that they failed to carry out their duties to protect passengers in need.

Keywords：

   1.Prosecutor檢方

   2.homicide殺人罪 

   3.allege宣稱 

   4.navigate駕駛

   5.vessel船 

   6.  execute將.....處死

7. negligence疏忽  

  8.file提起(訴訟等)

  9.anonymity匿名

10.evacuation疏散

11. withheld 扣留

12.stowage裝載

13.cargo貨物

14. retrieve收回

15.hamper阻礙

16.civilian 平民的