Five-year-old girl the only survivor of family

Among the youngest survivors rescued from the ferry Sewol that sank off the southwestern coast was a 5-year-old girl, and her story touches many.

Her mother, father and older brother are still missing. The girl, identified as Kwon, is being taken care of at Hankuk Hospital in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province,

It was a moving day for her family. The father decided to be a professional farmer and grow tangerines on Jeju, moving away from the struggle of his hectic urban lifestyle. The ferry had a moving truck filled with furniture and hope for a new rural life for the family on the island where the father had once lived.

Speaking with local media outlets, nurses said the girl is in distress.

She sustained no injuries, but signs of mental trauma are apparent, nurses said.

Her single comment was enough to describe the desperate moment.

“Mom and brother put a life jacket on me and pushed me up.”

A passenger, surnamed Kim, recalled she was alone when he spotted the girl in one of the ferry’s cabins.

Kim held her tight in his arms while climbing up the tilted ship. She was passed between four men as they found their way out of the ferry as it sank.

It took one night for her to get reunited with relatives.

Her aunt – Kwon’s father’s sister – said she did not know the family was onboard.

“I didn’t imagine they would have been on that ferry,” the aunt was quoted as saying by a local media outlet. Kwon’s grandmother also arrived with her aunt.

On Wednesday night, concerned nurses and those who knew she was alone ran a social network services (SNS) campaign to find her family members. Local celebrities helped in the effort.

A TV celebrity Haaha tweeted, “Kwon Ji-young, 5, was rescued from the ferry. But she can’t find her family. If you recognize her, please contact Hankuk Hospital in Mokpo.”

There was a reply Thursday morning: “Kwon is my cousin. Her aunt and other family members are on their way to the hospital. There was confusion about her name, and it took us awhile to confirm it was her.”

Her aunt said the girl was showing signs of stress as she realized what happened to her family. “I fed her a snack, but she threw it all up.”

SNS users expressed sympathy for her. “I am glad that she is now with her family. But I am sad her family members are still missing,” wrote one Twitter user. By Kim Se-jeong The korea times