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| Hungarians watch preparations to salvage the Hableany on the Danube River. Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
The body of a Korean woman in her 20s was recovered Saturday (local time) from the Danube River in Hungary, the South's foreign ministry said, Sunday.
The recovery brings the death toll to 20, with seven Koreans and the Hungarian captain still missing.
"The body was retrieved by a local patrol ship, about 22 kilometers from the site the accident," a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said.
A full-scale search and rescue operation has been underway since the boat sank on May 29.
Rescue teams from Hungary and Korea were initially scheduled to begin salvage work on Thursday, but high water level blocked prevented a boat from brining a crane to the wreckage site.
The crane arrived on Friday, but the boat has yet to be lifted because divers must first secure the boat
with wires ― one of the most crucial steps.
Once the wires are secured around the wreck, it will take only a few hours for the crane to raise the sunken boat, according to local rescue teams.
Inclement weather, such as low underwater visibility and fast currents, has since prevented search and rescue work. Authorities from Hungary have decided to raise the boat to retrieve bodies.
The Hungarian rescue authority said the salvage could be done on Monday. Aside from the salvage mission, the search operation would continue, it said.
