Sewol disaster: South Korea remembers ferry dead

 

South Korea is marking the first anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, which left more than 300 people dead.

More than 250 school students were among those killed when the ship - overloaded and illegally redesigned - sank off Jindo island.
The disaster triggered nationwide grief and outrage. It led to severe criticism of safety standards and rescue efforts.

Several memorial ceremonies are being held across the country.
Home Affairs Minister Jeong Jong-seop said nearly 300 private organisations and local governments were marking the day.
Two ceremonies are planned in Ansan city, where the students - who were on a school trip - came from.
On Wednesday, relatives of those who died sailed to the site of the disaster to scatter flowers and make offerings.
"I am so heartbroken. In such cold water, to think how cold she would have been," Reuters news agency quoted Lee Jung-seob as saying of her daughter, school student Hye-kyung.
"As she ended her life, to think how she would have missed her mum and dad and her family. My heart aches so much."
As the ship - sailing from Incheon to Jeju island - listed, the crew told passengers to stay in their cabins and wait.
Harrowing phone messages and footage later emerged showing students growing increasingly scared as they became trapped inside the sinking ship. Of the 476 people on board, 304 died.