Korean War plane debris found

[Anchor]

Debris believed to be from a U.S. military transport plane that crashed during the Korean War has been discovered off the coast of Gangneung.

This was found by a U.S. civilian veterans organization and a KBS underwater reporting team.

If this debris is confirmed to be from a transport plane, the governments of South Korea and the United States will jointly begin the first underwater recovery of remains.

Reporter Jo Hye-jin, who was at the search site, has the exclusive report.

[Report]

A U.S. military transport plane that carried out troop movements and supply missions during the Korean War.

In Nov. 1952, a C-46D Commando on a mission experienced an issue with its right engine shortly after takeoff.

The military transport plane, carrying 18 people, crashed into the waters off Gangneung immediately after leaving the runway.

Three years ago, a joint investigation by South Korea and the U.S. yielded no results, but recently, a U.S. civilian veterans organization obtained accident records and began its own investigation.

[Danny Keay/Vice President of the U.S. Nonprofit 'Heroes Wings': "According to all the documentation and records, it crashed in very shallow water. So our hope was to locate the crash site."]

The KBS underwater reporting team, along with the civilian search team, thoroughly searched a 600-meter radius close to the land.

Using advanced underwater filming robots, known as 'ROVs,' they detected metal objects with underwater sonar and video, and the reporting team would then dive down to visually confirm them.

On the second day of the search.

[Cheon Dong-hyuk/Underwater Search Expert: "In terms of shape, it does seem to resemble an engine. It looks like some type of cylinder is visible."]

Holding underwater filming equipment, they confirmed an object at a depth of 10 meters, which turned out to be debris the size of an adult male.

According to the initial analysis by experts from both South Korea and the U.S., it was reported that the appearance is very similar to the engine of the aircraft involved in the accident.

[Choi In-chan/Professor of Flight Operation at Silla University: "It is an engine type that is round and connects the front and back rows. So looking at the photos of the debris found this time, it appears to be remnants of such an engine."]

At that time, there were 9 missing persons, including one South Korean soldier.

If the discovered engine is determined to be a part of the accident aircraft, the defense ministries of South Korea and the U.S. plan to jointly conduct the first underwater recovery of remains.

This is KBS News, Jo Hye-jin reporting.