Sewol rises: South Korean ferry that sank three years ago lifted from sea bottom in delicate salvage operation

A consortium led by China’s state-run Shanghai Salvage Co. is recovering the vessel

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Workers prepare to lift the sunken Sewol ferry, centre, in waters off Jindo, South Korea. Photo: AP

Published: 12:48pm, 23 Mar 2017Updated: 10:06pm, 23 Mar 2017

A 6,800-tonne South Korean ferry emerged from the water on Thursday, nearly three years after it capsized and sank into violent seas off the country’s southwestern coast, an emotional moment for the country that continues to search for closure to one of its deadliest disasters ever.

More than 300 people — most of whom were students on a high school trip — died when the Sewol sank on April 16, 2014, touching off an outpouring of national grief and soul searching about long-ignored public safety and regulatory failures. The public outrage over what was seen as a botched rescue job by the government contributed to the recent ouster of Park Geun-hye as president.

Workers on two barges began the salvaging operation Wednesday night, rolling up 66 cables connected to a frame of metal beams divers spent months putting beneath the ferry, which had been lying on its left side in about 44 metres of water.

By 3:45 a.m., Sewol’s stabiliser surfaced from the water. About an hour later, the blue-and-white right side of ferry, rusty and scratched and its name “SEWOL” no longer visible from where it was, emerged for the first time in more than 1,000 days.

By about 7 a.m., the ferry had been raised enough for workers to climb on it and further fasten it to the barges.