[Ferry Disaster] 6-year-old who gave sister his lifejacket still missing

More stories of people who struggled to save others in Wednesday’s ferry tragedy emerged Friday.

A 6-year-old boy surnamed Kwon had put his lifejacket on his 5-year-old sister as the ferry Sewol went down.

“He told his sister that he would go and find their parents,” the boy’s aunt said.

Kwon and his parents remain missing, and the sister is being looked after by her grandmother. She was discharged on Thursday from Hankuk Hospital in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province.

Nam Yun-cheol, a 36-year-old teacher of Danwon High School, died while trying to rescue his students from the vessel. As the ship started sinking, Nam went downstairs to the cabins to fetch his students.

“I saw him throwing lifejackets (to students). That was the last time anyone saw him alive,” said a student in Nam’s class. The teacher’s body was found Thursday morning.

While Sewol’s captain Lee Joon-seok was heavily criticized for abandoning his ship just moments after it capsized, some crew stayed aboard until the last moment to help.

A 22-year-old crewmember, Park Ji-young, struggled to ensure that all passengers escaped to safety. Her death, confirmed by authorities Wednesday, was the first reported casualty of disaster.

Crewmember Yang Dae-hong, 45, also went missing while working to save the passengers. “I can’t speak for long. I have to go save the kids,” were his last words, according to his family.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)