Crew arrested over phone use before South Korea ferry ran aground

Passengers from the Queen Jenuvia II are brought to the Mokpo Coast Guard pier early Thursday after the ferry ran aground near Jokdo, south of Jangsan Island in Sinan County, late Wednesday. - Yonhap/The Korea Herald

SEOUL: South Korean maritime police arrested the first mate and an Indonesian helmsman of the Queen Jenuvia II after the 26,500-tonne passenger ferry ran aground on an uninhabited islet near Jangsan Island, authorities said on Thursday (Nov 20).

The Mokpo Coast Guard said the first mate was detained on suspicion of causing injury by gross negligence after investigators found he had been searching for news on his mobile phone at the time of the crash late Wednesday.