ed Tough search operations

Search and rescue operations for passengers who remain missing from the sunken ferry Sewol have made little headway since Saturday because bad weather, strong currents and floating debris hampered rescue efforts. Divers only retrieved three bodies over the weekend with more than 100 still remaining unaccounted for.

So far, the divers have searched 36 out of the ship’s 111 rooms, but they must overcome greater difficulties accessing the remaining rooms because of debris.

In a desperate attempt to enter these compartments, rescue workers planned to employ small explosives, along with wire cutters, to open doors, with the consent of families of the missing passengers. However, because of the risk of losing bodies of victims during this process, the use of explosives was ruled out.

The government is reportedly planning to salvage the doomed ferry once search and rescue operations are almost completed, but detailed plans won’t be available until government representatives talk with the distressed families.

The ill-fated vessel capsized after it began to list off the southwestern coast on April 16, making it extremely hard for rescuers to conduct search and rescue operations. These seem all the more difficult to carry out, considering that the ferry’s portside, where a number of missing persons are expected to have converged, is embedded deeply in sand.

With all hope of finding survivors almost gone, some experts have proposed placing the ship upright using cranes so that the search for bodies can gain momentum. But this method also runs the risk of losing bodies that may still be on the vessel.

It is regrettable that there has been confusion over the participation of civilian divers in the rescue and search operations, but it’s true that rescuers from the Navy and the Korea Coast Guard have been diving at the risk to their own lives.

As things stand now, this might be the time for the government to change its search and rescue operation into one of search and salvage, with consent from the families of the missing. But this option also puts the authorities in a dilemma because it will take at least two months to salvage the sunken ship and the bodies will decay during this period.

Prolonging the search operations will add to the grief and sorrow of the families and it’s necessary for the government to speed up the search and rescue operations.

Given that its initial bungled rescue efforts increased the death toll, the government needs to negotiate a wise solution with the families. This will be the least the government can do to atone for its appalling blunders.