Work starts on raising S. Korean ferry

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean workers on Wednesday began the difficult process of raising a 6,800-ton ferry that sank in 2014, killing more than 300 people and triggering a public uproar that contributed to the recent ouster of Park Geun-hye as president.

The salvaging operation began after hours of preparations and tests, according to an official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries who didn’t want to be identified because of office rules.

Workers on two barges have slipped 66 cables beneath the Sewol ferry, which had been lying on its left side in about 130 feet of water. The cables are connected to a frame of metal beams divers have spent months putting in place.

The ministry believes that workers will be able to lift the upper side of the ferry about 42 feet above the surface by this morning if water and weather conditions remain stable.

Workers will then begin loading it onto a semisubmersible, heavy-lift vessel that will carry it to a mainland port. That process, including emptying the ferry of water and fuel, is expected to take days.

The bodies of 295 passengers — most of whom were students on a high school trip — were recovered after the sinking on April 16, 2014, but nine still are missing. Relatives are hoping that those remains will be found inside the ferry.

South Korea in 2015 agreed to a $76 million deal with a consortium led by China’s state-run Shanghai Salvage Co. to raise the Sewol. The government initially planned to salvage the ferry by the end of last year, but the process was delayed by strong currents and unfavorable weather conditions.