The youngest survivor from the sunken ferry Sewol is out of the hospital, and is still pinning her hopes on rescue workers finding her missing father, mother and older brother.
The 5-year-old girl surnamed Kwon and her family were aboard the ill-fated vessel en route from Incheon to Jejudo Island.
Her father had reportedly decided to move the family to the resort island, away from the urban life.
President Park Geun-hye consoles 5-year-old Kwon during a meeting with families of those missing at a gymnasium in Jindo, South Jeolla Province, Thursday. (Yonhap)
Kwon was alone when she was taken to Hankuk Hospital in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. One of the rescued passengers recalled that she was passed along by several men on the ferry so the rescue worker could reach her as the ship sank.
“Mom and brother put me a life jacket on me,” she was quoted as saying by the nurse.
Police said she sustained no apparent injuries, but was taken to Hankuk Hospital in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, due to signs of stress.
On Wednesday, the hospital workers and authorities launched a campaign on social networking services to find her relatives. Police said it took some time before her grandmother in Seoul came to find her because her name was misspelled by the media.
Rescue workers are continuing the desperate search for missing passengers, including Kwon’s family. As of 9 p.m. on Thursday, the death toll sat at 13 and 283 passengers remained missing.
By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)