A passenger ferry carrying 267 people crashed into an uninhabited island off South Korea’s southwestern coast after the operator was allegedly distracted by his phone, local authorities said.
The vessel, traveling from Jeju Island to Mokpo, struck the island around 8 p.m. Wednesday. All passengers and crew were safely rescued, according to the coast guard.
The incident has revived painful memories of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, which killed more than 300 people, many of them schoolchildren.
Coast guard investigator Kim Hwang-gyun said crew members gave conflicting accounts of the crash. The first officer initially claimed a technical fault but later admitted he had been on his phone at the time.
“Whatever their testimonies so far, we’re looking at gross negligence,” Kim said, adding that criminal charges are being prepared.
Investigators suspect the first officer and an Indonesian crew member delayed overriding the autopilot system. Both have been detained.
The ferry was sailing at 40 kph, within regulation, but failed to make a turn, leading to the collision.
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