S. KOREA

The sunken Sewol ferry emerged from the waters last Thursday, nearly three years after it sank with the loss of more than 300 lives in one of the country’s worst maritime disasters. The painstaking job of lifting the 6,825tonne ship lying on its side 44 metres below the surface has been described as a battle between man and nature. The sea off the southwestern island of Jindo is known for its strong currents, which have been blamed for dozens of accidents and the deaths of two divers involved in the search and rescue on the Sewol. Unfavourable conditions also played a role in a series of delays in the salvage operations, with an original deadline of July 2016 pushed back until now.