Closure for the relatives? Raised South Korean ferry Sewol arrives at port

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The wreck of the Sewol ferry arrives at a port in Mokpo. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:45pm, 31 Mar 2017Updated: 2:45pm, 31 Mar 2017

A corroding 6,800-tonne ferry raised from the bottom of the sea last week arrived at a South Korean port Friday, where it will be searched for the remains of nine missing passengers from a 2014 sinking that killed 304.

Relatives of the victims watched from nearby as workers from a port in Mokpo conducted operations to dock the heavy lift transport vessel that carried the ferry Sewol, lying with its rusty blue bottom facing toward land.

I want to find even just a piece of his hair. He would have been wearing his wedding ring

Wife of a missing teacher

Finding the remains of the missing victims would bring a measure of closure to one of the country’s deadliest disasters.

Most of those who died when the Sewol sank on April 16, 2014, were teenagers on a school trip, triggering a national outpouring of grief and outrage over what was seen as poor rescue efforts by the government. The anger contributed to the removal of president Park Geun-hye, who earlier on Friday was arrested over allegations of corruption.

“He was in the dark and frightening deep seas for three years, but he’s now going to Mokpo,” Yoo Baek-hyeong, the wife of a missing teacher, told reporters on a patrol boat where they watched the transport vessel depart for port.

“I want to find even just a piece of his hair. He would have been wearing his wedding ring ... I want to find all of those things,” she said.

Families of three missing ferry passengers looking at the retrieved Sewol ferry. Photo: EPA