The sinking of MV Sewol killed 304 people, mostly schoolchildren, and triggered major political controversy over South Korea's government response.
Key Facts
- Total aboard
- 476 passengers and crew
- Deaths
- 304 people
- Survivors
- 172 people
- Student victims
- ~250 from Danwon High School, Ansan
- Child casualties share
- ~82% of all casualties
- Vessel tonnage
- 6,825 tons
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The MV Sewol, a 6,825-ton ferry operated by Chonghaejin Marine, departed Incheon bound for Jeju City carrying 476 people, including around 250 secondary school students on a field trip. Regulatory failures, alleged overloading, and improper cargo securing have been cited among the contributing factors leading to the vessel's loss of stability.
On the morning of 16 April 2014, the Sewol sent a distress signal approximately 2.7 kilometres north of Byeongpungdo at 08:58 KST and subsequently capsized and sank. The captain and most crew members abandoned ship while passengers, many of them students, remained aboard following instructions to stay in place. More than half of the 172 survivors were rescued by fishing boats and commercial vessels before the Korea Coast Guard arrived.
The disaster killed 304 people and prompted widespread public outrage at the ferry's crew, its operator, and the Park Geun-hye administration for a mishandled rescue and false early reports claiming all passengers had survived. The captain and three crew members were charged with murder; the ferry's operator's owner, Yoo Byung-eun, was found dead in July 2014. The event was ranked by South Koreans as the second most significant event since independence.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 304 (other)