Marine Operation

[Anchor Lead]

Operations have begun to find a Coast Guard patrol boat that sunk in the sea off Goseong in 1980. The bereaved families of 17 crew members who perished in the accident have waited for more than 39 years now, refusing to give up the hope of finding the bodies of their loved ones.

[Pkg]

This is the home of late Senior Policeman Kim Sam-hwan, one of the crew members of the doomed Coast Guard boat. He is always on the mind of his mother, who is now over 80 years old. Medals and certificates are the only traces left by him. Kim's mother believes that his remains will be found if the underwater search operations are successful.

[Soundbite] Chung Kyung-soon(Mother of late Kim Sam-hwan) : "I just hope that he will be buried in his country, which he gave his life for. That's my only wish. There is nothing else we can do at this point."

Kim Chang-gon is the younger brother of another man who went down with the ship, Senior Inspector Kim Jung-gon. Kim says that as a former Coast Guard officer he knows how patrol boats are salvaged, and that his brother's remains are probably in the boat.

[Soundbite] Kim Chang-gon(Brother of late Kim Jung-gon) : "I still have hope that we can find him. I want to find him no matter what."

Underwater operations to find the sunken vessel have begun in earnest. Even a dive support ship has been deployed to search the site of the accident within a three-mile radius. The operations will also involve the use of sound waves to obtain underwater images. A special ritual will also be held for the victims of the tragedy in time for the search operations.