Captain of Sunken South Korea Ferry: 'I'm Sorry'

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South Korean Coast Guard officers try to rescue missing passengers from a sunken ferry in the water off the southern coast near Jindo, South Korea, Thursday, April 17, 2014.

Image: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon/Associated Press

By Stan Schroeder2014-04-17 11:56:50 UTC

Lee Joon Suk, captain of the South Korean ferry which sunk off the coast of Jindo Island on Wednesday, is facing possible charges of negligence, CNN reports.

"I am sorry, I am at a loss for words," he said when asked if he anything to say to the missing passengers' families.

See also: 4 Dead, Hundreds Missing After Ferry Sinks Off South Korean Coast

According to CNN affiliate YTN, only one out of 46 lifeboats was deployed after the accident on board the ferry, which carried more than 470 people, many of them high school students on a trip to a local island. Of that total, 287 passengers are still missing at sea, and 179 have been rescued. Nine people are confirmed dead, and the death toll is expected to rise.

The reason behind the accident is still a mystery, as no one knows exactly why the ferry sank. "There was no huge difference between their plan and the actual track chart," South Korean Oceans and Fisheries Ministry spokesman Nam Jae Heon said of reports that the ferry went off-route.

As rescue efforts continue on Thursday, families of the missing must tragically wait for answers as to the fate of their loved ones.

Students Told To Stay In Place

Students aboard the stricken ferry were told to stay in place with their life jackets on, even as the ferry tilted so far that they stood awkwardly on benches to keep from falling over. Videos alleged to be from within the ferry show students calmly awaiting further instructions, some of them barefoot and huddled in place, as the ferry listed.

The South Korean coast guard has released raw video that shows the dramatic search and rescue efforts at the scene as they ferry slowly disappeared underwater.

“There was an announcement telling us to sit still, but the ferry was already sinking. Some of the students were not able to escape," one witness told the BBC. Another survivor told local television that students had jumped into the freezing ocean wearing life jackets before swimming to a nearby rescue boat. "As the ferry was shaking and tilting, we all tripped and bumped into each another," he said. The ocean "was so cold ... I was hurrying, thinking that I wanted to live."

A third said, "We must have waited 30 to 40 minutes after the crew told us to stay put. Then everything tilted over and everyone started screaming and scrambling to get out."

"If people had jumped into the water... they could have been rescued. But we were told not to go out," said another, according to the Associated Press.

Heartbreaking Texts From Students to Parents: "I Love You"

A South Korean media outlet, The Kyunghyang Shinmun , obtained a screenshot of an emotional text message exchange between a student aboard the ferry and his mother.

Image: The Kyunghyang Shinmun

Mashable translated the student's text message, and it reads:

9:27 a.m. - Mom, I’m sending this message now in case I don’t get to say it later: I love you.

9:34 a.m. - Why..? I was wondering why you weren’t checking your KakaoTalk (a Korean messaging app similar to WhatsApp).

9:36 a.m. - Me too, son.. I love you..

The student has since been rescued, according to a report from the CBC. Others may not have been so lucky.

Bad Weather Hampers Search for Survivors

An enormous rescue operation that involves more than 500 divers, 169 vessels and 29 aircraft is underway. However, bad weather and strong currents are hampering the search for survivors, the BBC reports.

"We found ourselves in challenging weather conditions today - very low cloud ceilings and reduced visibility and rain, and we're working a search area around the site in close co-ordination with the South Korean on-scene commander," Captain Joey Tynch of the USS Bonhomme Richard said. The US Navy had sent his ship to assist in the search for survivors.

While families remain hopeful, some rescuers are beginning to doubt that their search efforts will find anyone alive in the wrecked ship.

"Honestly, I think the chances of finding anyone alive are close to zero," one coast guard official said to a journalist on a rescue boat.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye looks at the site where the Sewol sank from aboard a Coast Guard ship in waters off the southern coast near Jindo, South Korea, Thursday, April 17, 2014.

Image: AP Photo/Yonhap/Associated Press

South Korea's president Park Geun-hye visited the wreck and urged rescuers to "hurry," stating that every minute and second was critical.

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Topics: ferry, South Korea, US & World, World