Rescuers find 32 dead among wreck of S. Korean warship
Source: Agencies |
April 16, 2010, Friday
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SOUTH Korea lifted part of a warship from the sea yesterday, nearly three weeks after it mysteriously exploded and sank with dozens of sailors trapped inside. Salvage workers found dead bodies of 32 crew members inside.
Fifty-eight crew members were rescued shortly after the 1,200-ton Cheonan split into two pieces after exploding on March 26 during a routine patrol near the tense border with North Korea. Thirty-four bodies have been recovered so far, while 12 sailors remain unaccounted for.
Recovering the wrecked ship could help determine the cause of the blast. There has been some suspicion but no confirmation of North Korean involvement in the sinking, which occurred near the two Koreas' disputed western sea border - scene of three bloody naval battles.
Yesterday, a huge naval crane hoisted the stern portion of the ship - where most of the missing sailors are believed trapped - a day after divers succeeded in tying the wreckage with chains.
Rescuers and salvage workers later boarded the stern and found 32 bodies identified as Cheonan crew, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul. Divers had previously retrieved two bodies.
"It's very regrettable as we hadn't given up our hope until the last minute," President Lee Myung-bak said during an emergency meeting on the salvaging, according to his office. "I don't know how to console their families."
Footage by TV broadcaster SBS showed salvage workers searching the stern after it was hoisted above the sea and loaded onto a barge.
The stern was to be moved aboard the barge to a naval base to investigate the cause of the explosion while the remaining two-thirds of the ship will be salvaged next week, military officials said.
No cause for the blast has been determined. South Korean officials are looking at all possibilities, including that it might have been hit by a North Korean torpedo or a mine left over from the 1950-53 Korean War.
Fifty-eight crew members were rescued shortly after the 1,200-ton Cheonan split into two pieces after exploding on March 26 during a routine patrol near the tense border with North Korea. Thirty-four bodies have been recovered so far, while 12 sailors remain unaccounted for.
Recovering the wrecked ship could help determine the cause of the blast. There has been some suspicion but no confirmation of North Korean involvement in the sinking, which occurred near the two Koreas' disputed western sea border - scene of three bloody naval battles.
Yesterday, a huge naval crane hoisted the stern portion of the ship - where most of the missing sailors are believed trapped - a day after divers succeeded in tying the wreckage with chains.
Rescuers and salvage workers later boarded the stern and found 32 bodies identified as Cheonan crew, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul. Divers had previously retrieved two bodies.
"It's very regrettable as we hadn't given up our hope until the last minute," President Lee Myung-bak said during an emergency meeting on the salvaging, according to his office. "I don't know how to console their families."
Footage by TV broadcaster SBS showed salvage workers searching the stern after it was hoisted above the sea and loaded onto a barge.
The stern was to be moved aboard the barge to a naval base to investigate the cause of the explosion while the remaining two-thirds of the ship will be salvaged next week, military officials said.
No cause for the blast has been determined. South Korean officials are looking at all possibilities, including that it might have been hit by a North Korean torpedo or a mine left over from the 1950-53 Korean War.
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