Skip to main content
Wednesday, November 4, 2026Nov 4
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

The Latest: South Korea says lifting ferry will take hours

Workers prepare to lift the sunken Sewol ferry, center, in waters off Jindo, South Korea, Thursday, March 23, 2017. A 6,800-ton 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. (Yonhap via AP)
Workers prepare to lift the sunken Sewol ferry, center, in waters off Jindo, South Korea, Thursday, March 23, 2017. A 6,800-ton 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. (Yonhap via AP) Workers prepare to lift the sunken Sewol ferry, center, in waters off Jindo, South Korea, Thursday, March 23, 2017. A 6,800-ton 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. (Yonhap via AP)

By Associated Press 1 min read

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The latest on the South Korean efforts to raise a sunken ferry (all times local):

11 a.m.

A South Korean government official says salvage crews will need until the late afternoon or evening Thursday to raise a sunken ferry to a point where they could start the process of loading it onto a vessel that will carry it to a mainland port.

Lee Cheoljo, an official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said that workers have temporarily stopped raising the 6,800-ton Sewol after it began rubbing against pulleys and other equipment on the two barges that are raising it with cables. Lee said workers are conducting balancing operations that could take several hours.

Workers had hoped to finish raising the ferry by morning. Lee said the ferry has so far been lifted 24 meters (79 feet) from the seafloor, but needs to be elevated 11 meters (36 feet) further so its upper side reaches about 13 meters (42 feet) above the surface. Salvage crews will then begin loading the ferry onto a semi-submersible, heavy-lift vessel that will carry it to a port.