No casualties reported in ferry fire

Police officers quickly determined that a fire had broken out on a passenger ship they had boarded, a Navy patrol boat swiftly rushed to the scene, and the passengers remained calm. The result was that no casualties were reported in a fire that sank the boat in two hours.

It was about 8:20 a.m. Wednesday when ``Democracy No. 2,¡¯¡¯ a high-speed ferry running between Baengnyong Island and Inchon with eight crewmen and 57 passengers aboard, caught fire. When the fire broke out, policeman Chung Jung-Ik, 28, and Park Dae-Hyung, 27, of the Daechong branch of the Inchon Jungbu (central) Police Station were in the passenger cabin. Chung was on his way to Sochong-do Island for his new duty there and Park was escorting a criminal suspect, a 30-year-old woman.

Chung was having a cigarette in the smoking area at the rear of the passenger cabin when he detected smoke emerging from the engine room at the aft of the ship. A crewmember dismissed the smoke as a result of engine trouble, but the police officer used his cell phone to report the possible fire to the Daechong police branch. Captain Pyong Jung-Kwan, 53, also radioed an emergency message to the Navy¡¯s Chamsuri speedboat, which was escorting the ship.

As the fire grew, black smoke poured into the passenger cabin and caused some to panic. But the passengers soon regained their presence of mind, guided by sailors who asked them to remain composed because the naval vessel was on its way. Chung and several crewmen led the passengers to the exit and the naval patrol boat arrived just five minutes after the fire started.

The Democracy No. 2, built with inflammable fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP), went down at around 10:35 a.m., about two hours after the blaze broke out.

A passenger ascribed the fact that there were no casualties to the actions of the passengers, police officers and crewmembers.

Park Joung-Gu jangkung@donga.com