Search for missing Sewol victims begins

The search for the remains of the missing passengers of the ferry Sewol got underway Tuesday, more than three years since the accident. Of the 476 who were aboard the vessel, 295 died and nine remain unaccounted for.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that preparations for the search, including safety checks, cleaning and disinfection processes, have been completed.

At around 1 p.m., the search began from the fourth deck, where most of the missing passengers are believed to be trapped.

“We started dispatching a team of nine search operators to the inside from today,” Lee Cheol-jo, the chief of the salvage operation, told reporters.

“Specific plans may change in the future, but we are constantly coordinating opinions between bereaved families and special investigation committee to finish the search process in three months,” Lee added.

The yearslong operation to raise the 6,800-ton Sewol that sank off the coast of Jindo, South Jeolla Province, and bring it ashore was completed last week.

On Thursday, several 26 meter-high steel working towers were installed around the wreck to allow some 70 workers to go into the wreck for a search.

Korea Salvage, a local firm responsible for the search of Sewol’s interior, said it is considering plans to make 70 centimeter-wide holes on the portside of the hull to gain access to the third and fourth floors of the wreck.

If any of the remains of the missing passengers are found, officials said that the search will be halted so the remains can be identified through the National Forensic Service and returned to the bereaved families. This process is expected to take about three weeks.

For a detailed search underwater, the operation team installed earlier this year 40 40-by-20-meter fences around a 32,000-square-meter area on the seabed where Sewol sank. Underwater fences surrounding the area have been set up to prevent any items from being lost.

Officials said the divers have searched seven of the 40 zones, but have not retrieved any remains or personal belongings.

Over the next two months, a team of 30 divers will continue to search the area with small shovels and sonar devices.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)