The Sewol ferry capsized and sank nearly three years ago, killing more than 300 people, many of them schoolchildren
South Korea prepared Sunday to raise the Sewol ferry that sank nearly three years ago, killing more than 300 people, most of them children. It is testing a system to bring the ship to the surface in the hope of finding the last nine bodies.
The Sewol, which was structurally unsound, overloaded and traveling too fast on a turn, capsized and sank during a routine voyage April 16, 2014. It lies at a depth of 44 meters (144 feet), off the southwestern island of Jindo.
Of those killed, 250 were teenagers on a school trip, many of whom obeyed crew instructions to remain in their cabins even as crew members were escaping the sinking vessel.
A woman looks at caricatures of the victims of the sunken ferry Sewol outside a group memorial altar in Ansan, South Korea, Thursday, April 16, 2015. Tears and grief mixed with raw anger Thursday as black-clad relatives mourned the 300 people, mostly high school students.
Nine still missing
Mourning families have been calling for the ship to be raised and for a more thorough investigation into the disaster.
“The main reason is to find the nine missing bodies,” a ministry of oceans and fisheries official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters, referring to the salvage that is costing about 85 billion won ($75 million).
