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| Families of passengers missing from the Sewol ferry ride a Coast Guard ship heading to the scene of the accident yesterday. Yellow ribbons, symbolizing the hope of a safe return of loved ones, are tied on the pier in Paengmok Harbor. [NEWS1] |
Divers took advantage of a three-day neap tide starting Tuesday and have managed to remove the bodies of many victims since then. The official death toll rapidly increased from 65 Monday evening to 171 as of yesterday at 7 p.m. There are still 131 missing passengers.
But the so-called neap tide ended yesterday, and stronger currents will make the dives more dangerous. The families of the missing passengers also asked the authorities to wrap up the search and rescue mission yesterday.
“As it is the last day of the neap tide, we will spend as much time on the search and rescue mission as possible,” said an official of the Korea Coast Guard yesterday morning. “We are planning to focus on survivors on the third and fourth floors [of the ferry] simultaneously.
“The weather on Friday is expected to continue to be sunny with low waves,” an official of the Korea Meteorological Administration said yesterday. “But the current will become rapid again once the neap tide ends. Also, it is expected to rain over the weekend, especially at the accident scene, and strong winds are expected.”
The rescue operation included 212 ships, 34 aircraft and more than 700 personnel from the military, government and civilians. The bodies extracted from inside the ferry are being brought to a temporary morgue set up at Paengmok Harbor in Jindo, South Jeolla, the nearest mainland port to the disaster, for identification.
BY KIM BONG-MOON [bongmoon@joongang.co.kr]
