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South Korean warship sinks, rescue efforts continue while 46 missing

28 March 2010 03:25 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. A South Korean naval vessel with 104 crew members onboard sank into waters off the west coast of the Korean peninsula late Friday due to an unknown cause, alarming the nation that anxiously watched the overnight rescue process of what is called one of the biggest tragedies of the country’s naval history, APA reports quoting â€œXinhuanetâ€ news agency.
The news of the 1,200-ton warship sinking off the South Korean island of Baekryeongdo, located near the disputed maritime border between South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), initially sparked much speculation here that the cause of the incident was possible attacks from the DPRK, which quickly died down as authorities scrambled to determine a cause of the incident.
WARSHIP SINKING
The patrol ship, named Cheonan, sank near the country’s northernmost island of Baekryeong after an unidentified explosion in the back of the ship made a hole in the bottom of it, local media reported citing military officials. Another South Korean naval ship fired at an unspecified object northward in a following action.
President Lee Myung-bak held a second consecutive emergency meeting with security officials early Saturday, following a late- night emergency meeting convened immediately after the news hit home.
"The President instructed the Armed Forces authorities to do all they can to rescue as many survivors as possible. At the same time, he said the authorities concerned should find out what exactly transpired in the incident in a speedy and thorough manner, considering all possibilities," presidential office Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye told reporters earlier in the day.
As the coast guard is put on the highest alert, all public officers in the country are also put on standby during the weekend at an instruction of Prime Minister Chung Un-chan for possible emergency situations in the wake of the incident.
No fatalities have been reported yet. Thirteen crew members have been hospitalized for injuries but they are not in a critical condition, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC).
RESCUE OPERATION
While 58 crew members out of 104 onboard the warship were rescued alive as of early Saturday morning, 46 members still remain missing.
The ongoing rescue operation has been interrupted by strong currents in the Yellow Sea, but 18 more special rescue workers were committed to the rescue operation in Saturday afternoon as weather conditions gradually improved, according to local media.
While thoroughly searching the ship to find the missing crew members believed to be confined in the sunken ship, the rescuers will also look into the bottom of the ship to help discover causes of the incident.
The captain of the vessel, who was rescued unscathed, joined the operation, the JSC said.
UNKNOWN CAUSE
Allegations of DPRK’s involvement in the tragedy were quickly made following the breaking news Friday night, and unnamed military officials reportedly told local media Friday that they were suspecting Pyongyang was behind the incident.
The incident took place in waters near the contentious sea border called Northern Limit Line, a scene of two fatal naval clashes between the two sides. Pyongyang has refused to acknowledge the border, which was fixed unilaterally by the U.S.- led United Nations Command after the 1950-1953 Korean War.
It also comes less than three months after tensions abruptly rose on the Korean peninsula following the DPRK’s repeated firing of artillery shells earlier this year into waters near the Northern Limited Line, to which the South at one point responded by firing warning shots.
Now, as the authorities are struggling to determine a cause of the incident, speculations are quickly dying down.
"There were no reports made at the meeting indicating that North Korea (DPRK) is behaving abnormally in connection with the incident," Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim said, referring to the early-morning emergency meeting presided over by the president.
There has been no unusual military move in the DPRK, and the unidentified target a separate South Korean vessel fired at could have just been a flock of birds, according to media reports.