Relatives of South Korean sailors who went missing after their vessel collided with a Chinese freighter and sank left for China on Tuesday to complain over what they saw as a slow response that may have cost lives.
Anger has been mounting in South Korea due to reports in local media that the Chinese vessel may have fled the scene of the accident last weekend and only reported the collision after it was safe in port several hours later.
Seven South Koreans, eight Myanmarese and an Indonesian disappeared after the South Korean and Chinese ships collided in fog on the Yellow Sea near China's coastal city of Dalian.
"The families are distressed and mad at the Chinese officials for their late response to this incident," an official with Bookwang Shipping Co, based in Pusan, said, adding 21 relatives made the trip. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said China has begun an extensive search for the missing sailors and expressed sympathy to their families.
"Since the ships collided with each other in China's Bohai Bay, the Chinese government has taken the issue seriously, and relevant departments have gone all out to launch rescue work," Jiang Yu told a news conference on Tuesday. Several South Korean dailies said Chinese sailors and authorities ignored their responsibilities.
"This not only goes against international practise, when the ship nearest to a wrecked ship is to do the rescuing, but also against the basic conduct of human life," the daily JoongAnng Ilbo wrote in an editorial.
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