Tragedy in South Korea

THE sinking of the South Korean ferry Sewol and consequent loss of some 300 lives - the majority of them school children - is at the moment as baffling as it is horrifying.

But now is not the time for columns such as this to speculate what went wrong; that is for the proper authorities to look into. Already, prosecutors are filing charges, and serious accusations have been lobbed against the master and his crew.

It is hoped that investigations will shed light on what went wrong, and the lessons that need to be drawn from this tragedy. The safety record in international ferry operations is now extremely good in countries (includin…