South Korea ferry: President Park apologizes for initial response
'Initial response and remedy were insufficient,' Park Geun-hye says
South Korea's president has apologized to the public for the government's poor initial response to a ferry sinking that has left more than 300 people missing or dead.
- South Korea ferry: all 15 crew members linked to disaster in custody
- South Korea ferry disaster: Texts from the doomed ship
- Divers feel for children's bodies in dark
The apology came as divers Tuesday fought strong currents in their search for more than 100 missing passengers. The government has raised the death toll on what has become a point of national mourning and shame to 193. Most of the dead and missing are high school students.
President Park Geun-hye said at a cabinet meeting at the presidential Blue House that South Korea has "lost many precious lives because of the accident, and I am sorry to the public and am heavy hearted." She says the government couldn't prevent the accident and "the initial response and remedy were insufficient."