S. Korea families visit site of sunken ship

March 29, 2010|Associated Press

BAENGNYEONG ISLAND, South Korea — The South Korean Navy stepped up its efforts to find 46 missing crew members of a naval ship that sank near the nation’s border with North Korea, but hopes were dimming because no survivors have been found in two days.

A US military ship will join rescue operations today, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry.

Weeping, angry relatives of the crew members missing after a mysterious explosion sank the ship sailed around the site yesterday, while others criticized the government for lack of results as rescue operations continued.

No survivors or bodies have been found since a rescue of 58 sailors from the 1,200-ton Cheonan, which sank early Saturday. Still, President Lee Myung Bak refused to give up hope.

The ship had been on a routine patrol with other vessels in the Yellow Sea off South Korea’s western coast. The exact cause of the explosion — one of South Korea’s worst naval disasters — remained unclear and officials said it could take weeks to determine. Fierce waves and high winds have hampered the search in an area where the two Koreas have fought three bloody naval engagements since 1999.

Despite the location of the sinking, North Korea did not appear to be involved. The countries remain in a state of war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.