Sewol survivor attempts suicide

A female high school survivor of the Sewol ferry disaster in April has tried to kill herself, a local online magazine said Tuesday.

The second-year student from Danwon High School was taken to a hospital on Sunday night by her younger sibling in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, after taking an overdose of unknown medicine and becoming unconscious. The student had written a letter saying she missed her friend, who died in the disaster.

Her condition in hospital was not life-threatening, the magazine source said.

Another newspaper previously reported on the post-traumatic status of 75 students who survived. Referring to a psychological analysis, the report said their mental distress was extremely high right after the disaster. The signs tended to ease after a month but worsened again after six months.

A Korea University professor was quoted as saying the students’ post-traumatic syndrome disorder (PTSD) would develop into chronic illness or depression unless they received proper treatment.