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Diver dies at S Korea rescue site | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A South Korean military diver searching for survivors from a navy ship that sank off North Korea has died. | |
The diver lost consciousness as he searched wreckage of the Cheonan warship which sank after an explosion on Friday, the military said. | |
Rescuers have been working to get inside the ship, split in two by the blast. Forty-six sailors are missing. | |
The cause of the explosion is not yet clear, but a senior official has said it could have been a North Korean mine. | The cause of the explosion is not yet clear, but a senior official has said it could have been a North Korean mine. |
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited the scene of the wreck on Tuesday, flying in by helicopter to Baengnyeong island near the disputed inter-Korean border. | |
He also ordered the military onto alert, saying: "Since the sinking took place at the front line, the military should thoroughly prepare for any move by North Korea." | |
Dangerous waters | |
Fifty-eight crew members were rescued when the Cheonan went down late on Friday. | Fifty-eight crew members were rescued when the Cheonan went down late on Friday. |
Officials say they believe that some of the 46 sailors still missing could have survived in water-tight cabins in the stern of the ship. | |
More than a dozen South Korean ships are involved in the rescue effort, plus a US vessel. | More than a dozen South Korean ships are involved in the rescue effort, plus a US vessel. |
The diver who died was one of dozens brought in to try to gain access to the wreckage. Officials said they were working to ascertain the cause of death. | |
A navy spokesman said the divers were working in "a very vicious environment" with swift currents and murky visibility. | |
"Our goal is to get into the ship and find any survivors but at the moment it is extremely hard to do so," the navy spokesman said. | |
On Monday teams used a hose to inject oxygen into the stern via a crack, but divers who knocked on the hull received no response. | |
The cause of the blast that sank the ship remains unclear. | |
Defence Minister Kim Tae-young has said the blast could have been caused by a mine laid by the North during the 1950-53 Korean War. | |
He said it could also have been a mine that the communist state intentionally sent floating towards the South Korean vessel. | He said it could also have been a mine that the communist state intentionally sent floating towards the South Korean vessel. |
But an internal malfunction has not been ruled out and military officials said establishing the cause of the blast might have to wait until the ship is salvaged. | But an internal malfunction has not been ruled out and military officials said establishing the cause of the blast might have to wait until the ship is salvaged. |
Pyongyang has made no official comment on the incident. | Pyongyang has made no official comment on the incident. |
It does not accept the maritime border, known as the Northern Limit Line, which was drawn unilaterally by the US-led United Nations Command at the end of the Korean War. | It does not accept the maritime border, known as the Northern Limit Line, which was drawn unilaterally by the US-led United Nations Command at the end of the Korean War. |
The area has been the scene of deadly clashes between the navies of the two Koreas in the past. | The area has been the scene of deadly clashes between the navies of the two Koreas in the past. |