China steps up safety measures after S Korean ferry tragedy

Want China Times, Xinhua and Staff Reporter 2014-04-21

Rescue teams search for passengers after the South Korean ferry, identified
as the Sewol, capsized on April 16. (Photo/Xinhua)

China's Ministry of Transport on Sunday asked related authorities to step up safety management and remain alerted after a sunken South Korean ferry left hundreds dead or missing.

Local transport authorities should draw a lesson from the tragedy and intensify measures during the coming May Day holiday to ensure the safety of ferries, the ministry said in a notice, adding that water traffic is expected to boom with mounting tourists in the three-day May Day holiday starting from May 1.

The South Korean ferry sank on Wednesday, with the death toll now standing at 64, with 238 people still missing, most of them students from a school near Seoul, the BBC reported.

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