South Korean Ferry Disaster:
UPDATE:
As horrific stories about the Korean ferry disaster emerge — already called one of South Korea’s worst peacetime disasters — there is also hope that survivors may still be trapped inside the ferry. Nearly 300 passengers are still missing.
CNN:
While no one knows if any of the 287 people who remain missing are still alive, authorities said they were operating under the assumption that there are survivors.
That hope largely hinges on whether trapped passengers are in isolated pockets of air on the ship.
“From the images that I’ve seen, there’s clearly some areas of the hull that are above the water, that are not flooded,” Mike Dean, the U.S. Navy deputy director for salvage and diving, told “CNN Tonight.”
“So absolutely, there could be areas in there where there is breathable air, but the trouble right now is the temperature and getting people to them.”
Most passenger bedrooms were on the fourth level of the five-floor boat, which is now upside down. Divers tried at least six times to enter the submerged cabins but were unable to get in, Kim said.
Rescuers will try to pump air into the ship again Friday, authorities said.
The ship which had had more than 450 people on board was traveling from Incheon, South Korea to Jeju Island at the time of the incident.
A massive rescue operation is underway in the frigid waters with temperatures between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit, an operation in which the U.S. Navy USS Bonhomme Richard is participating (below).
The Bonhomme Richard has been assigned a search area five to 15 nautical miles from the shipwreck site. Two MH-60 Seahawk helicopters from the ship are conducting search and rescue operations within the assigned search area.
Original Post:
MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 stand ready on the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, April 16, 2014. Sailors and Marines onboard Bonhomme Richard stand ready to render aid at the scene of a sinking ferry near the island of Jindo off South Korea’s southwestern coast. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam D. Wainwright
South Indian Ocean. The search for Flight MH370 continues:
Operators aboard the Ocean Shield, an Australian navy ship, move the U.S. Navy’s Bluefin 21 Artemis autonomous underwater vehicle into position to deploy it in the Indian Ocean, April 14, 2014. Using side-scan sonar, the Bluefin will descend to a depth of between 4,000 and 4,500 meters, or about 2.5 to 2.8 miles, and about 115 feet above the ocean floor. Joint Task Force 658 is supporting Operation Southern Indian Ocean, searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Photo DOD.
Afghanistan Elections:
U.S. Air Force Capt. Christopher K. Jordan scans the horizon while flying a combat sortie mission to support Afghanistan’s presidential elections, April 5, 2014. Jordan, an E-3B sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft pilot, is assigned to the 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron. Photo DOD.
Ukraine Crisis — USS Donald Cook.
The guided missile destroyer that was buzzed by Russian fighter aircraft visits Romania.
Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) salute Romanian President Traian Basescu during his visit to the ship. Donald Cook, the first of four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to be forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is serving on a scheduled patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility as part of the president’s European phased adaptive approach to ballistic missile defense in Europe. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Guttierrez III)
Fort Hood Shooting: Honoring the Victims:
President Barack Obama, accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama, places a coin on each of the three boxes for those who died during a memorial service on Fort Hood, Texas, April 9, 2014, for the victims of the April 2 shooting. Photo DOD.
U.S. Secretary of Defense visits China and Mongolia:
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel greets his horse, Shamrock, at the Mongolian Ministry of Defense in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, April 10, 2014. The horse is a traditional Mongolian gift to visiting dignitaries and is renamed during the gifting ceremony. Hagel renamed the horse after his high school mascot. Photo DOD.
April is Month of the Military Child
First Lady Michelle Obama visits with families working on crafts at Maryland Fisher House IV at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., April 14, 2014.
No photo collection would be complete without at least one photo of our Military Working Dogs
U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Ashly Lester carries Leska, a military working dog, off the operating table after a surgery to remove a broken incisor at the camp’s medical facility on Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, April 2, 2014. Lester is a military working dog handler. Leska made a full recovery from the surgery. Photo DOD.
And without at least one photo our magnificent aircraft and their pilots
Two U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform an inverted formation fly-by during the Thunder and Lightning Over Arizona event at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., April 13, 2014. In addition to 14 aerial demonstrations, there were more than 40 aircraft static displays during the event. Photo DOD.
