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| Adam Clark, a crane capable of lifting 200 tons, is docked at a marina Thursday about five kilometers away from the wreckage of Hableany, a tour boat that capsized and sank on May 29 on the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary. Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
A plan to salvage the ill-fated sunken tour boat Hableany from the Danube River in Hungary is being delayed, as high water levels are blocking a large floating crane from reaching the accident site.
Initially, Hungarian and Korean salvage workers were scheduled to engage in the recovery mission Thursday. But the operation of the crane capable of lifting 200 tons was suspended because it could not pass under some bridges, including the Margit Bridge.
The local authority explained the water level in the river did not drop as much as it had expected, so the crane is docked about five kilometers from the wreckage. It will take less than an hour for the crane to reach its destination once the water drops to a point at which the vessel can pass under the bridges.
The water level should be more than 4.5 meters under the bottom of the bridge deck for the crane to safely pass, according to the local rescue team. But as of Thursday morning, it was 4.2 meters.
The Hungarian authority estimated it would take at least three days for the water level to drop by 30 centimeters, enabling the crane to pass safely.
Once the crane arrives at the site, chains will be secured around the submerged boat before starting the salvage mission. Hungarian divers will take on the mission. But safety concerns are lingering in consideration of the low visibility in the water.
The salvage of the wreck is crucial to retrieve bodies from the boat, which capsized and sank on May 29 after colliding with a larger cruise vessel on the river in Budapest.
The sightseeing boat carried 35 people, mostly Koreans, on board. Hungarian rescue services brought 14 passengers to shore instantly after the accident. But only half of them survived, and no other survivors have been reported.
As of 10 p.m. Thursday, sixteen Korean deaths have been confirmed, with 10 others remaining missing. The two Hungarian crew members are also still unaccounted for.
The local rescue team also recovered two more bodies, presumed to be Koreans, about 5.8 kilometers and 40 kilometers away from the wreckage. Officials from the Korean police are checking their identities.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Thursday presided over an hour-long meeting with officials from relevant ministries in handling the post-accident management.
"She urged them to cooperate closely with each other by sharing information in real time," an official from the ministry said.
In particular, she underlined the need to come up with measures to speed up rescue efforts, according to the ministry.
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