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Seoul / AFP
Strong waves forced the suspension of an operation to lift a South Korean ferry that sank in 2014 in a disaster that shocked and enraged the country, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
The Sewol was carrying 476 people when it sank off the southwestern island of Jindo in April 2014, with the loss of 304 lives—most of them schoolchildren.
Attempts to raise the bow of the vessel that began on Sunday afternoon marked the start of a long and difficult process to bring the wreckage to the surface, a key demand of victims’ families who hope nine bodies still unaccounted for may yet be recovered.
But high waves and strong winds compelled a salvage company to put off the operation Monday after lifting the bow slightly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.
“The operation will resume late this month when weather improves and tides are weak, a ministry spokesman told AFP.
The bow of the ship was lifted by two-point-two degrees or about four metres (13 feet) during the operation but lifting wires sawed into the wreck because of jolts from the waves, forcing the company to suspend the work, he said. Once the bow is lifted, lifting beams will be put underneath, and work will follow in the same way on the stern section.
Buoys will then be placed underneath the wreck to reduce gravity before giant floating cranes start pulling up cables.
“It’s difficult to predict exactly when the ship will be brought to the surface but we now hope to do so sometime in Augustâ€, he added.
Seoul last year announced plans to salvage the 6,825-tonne ship and selected a Chinese consortium led by state-run Shanghai Salvage Co. to spearhead the $72 million project.