Add Category
Updated
A 6,800-tonne South Korean ferry has emerged from the water, nearly three years after it capsized and sank into violent seas off the country's south-western coast with hundreds of people on board.
Key points:
- More than 300 people died in the incident
- An investigation committee into the sinking to be formed
- Botched rescue effort contributed to former president Park Geun-hye's impeachment
The salvage operation was an emotional moment for a country continuing to search for closure to one of its deadliest disasters ever.
More than 300 people, most of whom were students on a high school trip, died when the Sewol sank on April 16, 2014, touching off an outpouring of national grief and soul searching about long-ignored public safety and regulatory failures.
The public outrage over what was seen as a botched rescue job by the Government contributed to the recent ouster of Park Geun-hye as President.
Ms Park was forced to defend herself against accusations that she was out of contact for several hours on the day of the sinking.
Workers on two barges began the salvaging operation, rolling up 66 cables connected to a frame of metal beams divers spent months putting beneath the ferry, which had been lying on its left side in about 40 metres of water.
The blue-and-white right side of ferry, rusty and scratched with "SEWOL" no longer visible, emerged for the first time in more than 1,000 days.
Search for missing bodies
The bodies of 295 passengers were recovered after the sinking, but nine are still missing.
Relatives, some of whom were watching from two fishing boats just outside the operation area, hope that those remains will be found inside the ferry.
"I can see it. I can see where my daughter is," Park Eun-mi, the mother of a missing 17-year-old girl, told a television crew as her boat approached the salvaging site.
"We just want one thing: for the ship to be pulled up so that we can take our children home," said Lee Geum-hee, the mother of another missing student.
Once the ferry reaches a port 90 kilometres away in the city of Mokpo, in about two weeks, workers will begin clearing the mud and debris and search for the remains of the missing victims.
An investigation committee will also be formed to search for clues that could further explain the cause of the sinking, which has been blamed on overloaded cargo, improper storage and other negligence.
The ferry's captain survived and is serving a life sentence after a court found him guilty of committing homicide through wilful negligence, because he fled the ship without issuing an evacuation order.
AP
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, maritime, accidents, korea-republic-of
First posted