Poor visibility, rough currents pose challenges for Korean ferry rescue divers

South Korean Navy's divers going underwater to search for survivors from the sunken Sewol at the sea off Jindo.
(AFP PHOTO/Jung Yeon-je)

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JINDO: Rescue efforts for the sunken ferry Sewol have been heavily criticised by family members of victims for being too slow and ineffective but professional divers say this could possibly be the most difficult underwater operation yet.

Fifty-seven-year-old Hwang Dea-sik has nearly 40 years of diving experience.

Yet, the general manager of South Korean Maritime Rescue Association said going underwater to search for survivors from the sunken Sewol has been his most challenging dive yet.

With the water dense with sediments, his visibility has been reduced to just 50 centimetres.

The area where the ferry sank is also notorious for its rough currents.

"We tried to dive into the sea to reach the ferry but the strong water currents swept divers back. Boats had to be used to follow behind these divers to fish them out," explained Hwang.

Over 500 divers, including civilians and officers from the Navy and Coast Guard have been taking turns to submerge and search.

Imagine a five-storey building turned upside down and then fully submerged in water. That's how divers describe the current situation.

Even though divers are now able to enter the ferry and are able to search from room to room, the process is tedious and time-consuming. They can only stay under water between 10 and 20 minutes at any one time.

Hwang said most bodies were found in a central room on the fourth floor of the ship. He added that getting to them wasn't easy.

"They have to break the windows to get into the compartments but there's water pressure on both sides. When they try to break the windows, the windows can't be broken because of the water pressure," said Hwang.