Discovered in the Wheelhouse of the Vessel
Presumed to Be a Korean Crew Member
Jeonnam Province announced on April 20 that one more missing crew member from the 22 Seokyung Ho has been recovered.
According to Jeonnam Province, at around 8:52 a.m. that day, a diver began a detailed search of the wheelhouse, where a missing person had previously been found, and at 9:05 a.m. discovered one additional missing person.
The individual is presumed to be a Korean crew member. After being lifted to the sea surface, the body is being transported to Sinbuk Port in Yeosu. Upon arrival at Sinbuk Port, the body will be moved to the funeral hall at Jeonnam Hospital in Yeosu for identification procedures, after which it will be handed over to the family for funeral arrangements.
Based on testimonies from surviving foreign crew members and other circumstances, Jeonnam Province believes that at least one more missing person may still be inside the vessel. The province plans to intensify the search until the operation concludes on the 27th.
A Jeonnam Province official stated, "Despite the challenging search environment, we have been able to recover two missing persons so far," and added, "High waves, fog, and other adverse weather conditions, as well as underwater obstacles, are making the search difficult, but we will do our utmost to recover the remaining missing persons as soon as possible and return them to their families."
The 22 Seokyung Ho sank at around 10 nautical miles east of Baekdo, Yeosu, in the early hours of February 9. Of the 14 people on board, 4 were rescued, 5 were found dead, and 5 remained missing.
Last month, in response to the earnest requests of the families of the missing, Jeonnam Province urgently allocated 1 billion KRW from the reserve fund for the search operation. On February 26, the province signed a search contract with Maru Ocean Co., Ltd., a company specializing in underwater operations, and has been conducting the search since March 23 with a fleet consisting of a search mother ship, support vessels, divers, and underwater drones.
Under the terms of the contract, Jeonnam Province requires at least five internal searches (wheelhouse, crew quarters, engine room) during the search period. If five or more searches are not completed by the end of the search on the 27th, the search period will be automatically extended.
Through the search operation, one missing person (a foreign crew member) was recovered from the vessel's wheelhouse on the 16th, bringing the total number of missing persons found so far to two.
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