Divers continue search for S Korean sailors

S KOREA: Divers have injected oxygen into the hull of a South Korean warship sunk by a mystery blast, officials said Tuesday, refusing to abandon hope for dozens trapped inside.

“Work is under way in the belief that there could be survivors,” military spokesman Lee Ki-Shik said as rescue work entered a fourth day.

Despite the official stance, hopes were fading for the 46 sailors missing since the 1,200-tonne corvette Cheonan was blown in two Friday night near the tense border with North Korea in one of the country’s worst naval disasters.

Divers Monday reached both sections of the 88-metre (290 foot) ship and banged on the hull with hammers. They heard no answering sounds.

Seoul officials have not publicly blamed the North for the disaster, even though the disputed sea border was the scene of clashes in 1999, 2002 and last November. US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said in Washington he had heard nothing to implicate any other country in the tragedy. South Korean Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young has said a drifting North Korean mine dating back to the 1950-53 war might have caused the blast, or the North might have intentionally sent a mine floating towards the ship.

There were no signs of a torpedo attack before the explosion, Kim told legislators Monday.

Rescuers late Monday injected oxygen through a crack into the stern, which rests at a 90 degree angle on the bed of the Yellow Sea. But divers could not find a way inside amid swift currents and cold murky water.

The military said they would try again Tuesday to access both sections. Nineteen South Korean or US vessels and eight helicopters were involved in the rescue bid along with 170 divers or other rescuers.

Angry and tearful relatives of the missing have demanded swifter action, scuffling occasionally with naval staff who briefed them. Baengnyeong Island, AFP