Crane reaches site of deadly Danube boat sinking
- 5 years ago
We begin with the latest on the recovery operations in Budapest, where a sightseeing boat sank around ten days ago,... taking the lives of many South Koreans.
Authorities are looking for a way to get the boat out of the water safely.
Our Won Jung-hwan has the latest.
The salvage operation seems to be going according to plan.
There had been some concerns that the biggest crane in Eastern Europe would not be able to reach the site because of unsafe water levels in the river,… but it got there late Friday after passing under two bridges.
The huge floating crane, named the Clark Adam, had been docked at a quay close to the accident site for days. The Hungarian government was even considering taking it apart to get it past the bridges.
But that proved unnecessary, so now the Hungarian government can carry out its original salvage plan which was scheduled to take place on Sunday.
"I also believe that it's very important to raise the boat quickly. This morning I talked to the chief of the Counter Terrorism Centre and we agreed to finish plan A by Sunday."
So now the focus is on the salvage operation. To lift the boat,… they need to attach cables to the stern before wrapping chains and ropes around it.
The Hungarian authorities say this mission is underway as of Saturday,... and the guiding pipe, which is the thin cable that goes between the boat and the riverbed, is almost completely installed.
Once the wreck is secured, a floating dock will be put under the water, which will raise the boat along with it... as it returns to the surface.
This could take around 4 hours.
In the meantime, the South Korean and Hungarian teams are making sure that the bodies inside the boat are not lost in the process.
Aside from the salvage operation,... Seoul's response team in Hungary has put a helicopter in the air to look more closely at areas where they suspect there might be more bodies, including the places where the most recent ones were found.
There are also 7 search dogs from Hungray and Germany searching on the ground.
The death toll still stands at 19. Only seven out of the 35 people who were on the boat survived the sinking and 9 people are still missing, many of whom are presumed to be inside the wreck.
The water level on the Danube is expected to go down over the weekend and reach a safe level by Monday at the latest,... so many hope the rescue work can be finished next week.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
Authorities are looking for a way to get the boat out of the water safely.
Our Won Jung-hwan has the latest.
The salvage operation seems to be going according to plan.
There had been some concerns that the biggest crane in Eastern Europe would not be able to reach the site because of unsafe water levels in the river,… but it got there late Friday after passing under two bridges.
The huge floating crane, named the Clark Adam, had been docked at a quay close to the accident site for days. The Hungarian government was even considering taking it apart to get it past the bridges.
But that proved unnecessary, so now the Hungarian government can carry out its original salvage plan which was scheduled to take place on Sunday.
"I also believe that it's very important to raise the boat quickly. This morning I talked to the chief of the Counter Terrorism Centre and we agreed to finish plan A by Sunday."
So now the focus is on the salvage operation. To lift the boat,… they need to attach cables to the stern before wrapping chains and ropes around it.
The Hungarian authorities say this mission is underway as of Saturday,... and the guiding pipe, which is the thin cable that goes between the boat and the riverbed, is almost completely installed.
Once the wreck is secured, a floating dock will be put under the water, which will raise the boat along with it... as it returns to the surface.
This could take around 4 hours.
In the meantime, the South Korean and Hungarian teams are making sure that the bodies inside the boat are not lost in the process.
Aside from the salvage operation,... Seoul's response team in Hungary has put a helicopter in the air to look more closely at areas where they suspect there might be more bodies, including the places where the most recent ones were found.
There are also 7 search dogs from Hungray and Germany searching on the ground.
The death toll still stands at 19. Only seven out of the 35 people who were on the boat survived the sinking and 9 people are still missing, many of whom are presumed to be inside the wreck.
The water level on the Danube is expected to go down over the weekend and reach a safe level by Monday at the latest,... so many hope the rescue work can be finished next week.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.