Search for Survivors Continues; Text Messages thought to be coming from Inside Capsized South Korean Ferry, a Hoax

Aimee Herd : Apr 18, 2014
Frances Cha, Holly Yan, Paula Hancocks

Please continue to pray for this ongoing search and rescue operation, and for the families and friends of those missing.

Adding to the distress and anguish of family members and friends waiting for any word on their loved ones missing in the S. Korean ferry disaster, the text messages that were purported to have come from people still on the ship, were all found to be fake. (Photo via AP/CNN)

Authorities had called in their Police Cyber Terror Response teams and verified the hoax. They made a public statement saying, "Please stop such actions that are causing pain to the families of missing passengers. The malicious distributors of these texts will be strictly dealt with."

On Friday, the death toll rose to 29, and there were still some 270 people missing, most of them high school students. (Photo via AP/CNN)

An arrest warrant was issued for two crew members and the captain of the ferry, who were among the first group rescued.

Maritime law attorney Jack Hickey told CNN, "This captain violated the age-old rule and internationally recognized rule that a captain must stay on the vessel. Pretty much every law, rule, regulation and standard throughout the world says that yes, the captain must stay with the ship until all personnel are safely off of the ship, certainly passengers." (Photo via AP/CNN)

Officials say it's possible that some of the passengers on board the sunken vessel could have found small pockets of air, and could still be alive.

"Absolutely, there could be areas in there where there is breathable air," said Mike Dean, the U.S. Navy deputy director for salvage and diving. "But the trouble right now is the temperature and getting people to them."