Angry relatives of those still missing following South Korea's ferry disaster surrounded senior officials preventing them from leaving the area where families have been waiting for word of their loved ones for more than a week. (April 24)
Angry relatives of those still missing following South Korea's ferry disaster surrounded senior officials on Thursday and refused to let them leave a meeting until their demands for a speedy recovery of their loved ones' remains were met.
The families accused the authorities of lying to them about how the operation was progressing and told the officials they didn't have a grasp of details.
Frustration simmered throughout Thursday, the day the families had set as a deadline to find the bodies of those still missing.
Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Lee Ju-young, and the Korean coast guard's chief Kim Seok-kyun and deputy chief Choi Sang-hwan were forced to sit down, surrounded by angry relatives.
Battling to be heard above the shouts of derision, Lee Ju-young said he had told the coast guard to work on the recovery mission "as if you are going to sacrifice yourself".
Relatives fear that with time running out, the remains of their loved ones will start to decompose, adding to their distress.
More than 170 bodies have been recovered, but around 130 remain somewhere within the sunken ship or the surrounding waters.
