[Press Corps]
Bone fragments were retrieved Tuesday from the deck of a gargantuan transport vessle carrying the wrecked Sewol ferry that sank three years ago with the loss of more than 300 people, officials said.
Forensic experts were rushed to carry out a DNA test after the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said six bone fragments were found beneath the bridge of the ferry that was raised above the water last week and put on the giant transport vessel.
Along with the fragments, personal items such as clothing were retrieved but government officials said a scientific examination is requried to determine whether they belong to nine victims who remained unaccounted for. A DNA test would take at least two weeks.
The Sewol ferry will be carried to a dock at Mokpo, a port some 300 kilometers (186 miles) southwest of Seoul. The ministry speculated the bone fragments might have been flushed out when salvage workers pumped seawater out of the ferry aborad the transport ship.
The ferry was carrying 476 people including 325 students from a high school in Ansan. Only 75 students survived. The accident was tragic enough to shake the whole nation. It has been two and a half years since the last remains of a student were retrieved by divers from the ferry.
Forensic experts were rushed to carry out a DNA test after the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said six bone fragments were found beneath the bridge of the ferry that was raised above the water last week and put on the giant transport vessel.
Along with the fragments, personal items such as clothing were retrieved but government officials said a scientific examination is requried to determine whether they belong to nine victims who remained unaccounted for. A DNA test would take at least two weeks.
The Sewol ferry will be carried to a dock at Mokpo, a port some 300 kilometers (186 miles) southwest of Seoul. The ministry speculated the bone fragments might have been flushed out when salvage workers pumped seawater out of the ferry aborad the transport ship.
The ferry was carrying 476 people including 325 students from a high school in Ansan. Only 75 students survived. The accident was tragic enough to shake the whole nation. It has been two and a half years since the last remains of a student were retrieved by divers from the ferry.
Park Sae-jin = ajunews.com
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