South Korean Divers Reach Sunken Warship

South Korean divers have reached a warship that sank in mysterious circumstances last Friday after a blast.

The divers tapped on the stern of the Cheonan, where some of the 46 missing crew members are believed to have been trapped, but heard no response.

The authorities are hoping some of the crew may be alive but trapped in underwater air pockets in the wreckage.

The vessel sank close to the sea border with North Korea; the South has said it is open-minded on the cause of the blast.

South Korea's defence minister said it could have been caused by a drifting mine.

Rescue officials said at the weekend that an explosion broke the ship into two parts. Fifty-eight crewmen were saved soon after the ship went down.

Defence ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said the navy divers had reached both sections of the Cheonan, lying on the sea bed.

Relatives of the missing have been demanding answers from officials.

They used hammers to knock on the stern, which is the part of ship that contains the sleeping compartments and so is thought to be the most likely location in which survivors might be found.

'But so far there is no response from the inside,' Mr Won told a news conference.

Earlier attempts to reach the vessel had been hampered by strong currents and murky waters.

Yonhap news agency quoted officials as saying that parts of the ship were able to shut out water for a maximum of 69 hours.

President Lee Myung-bak urged rescuers not to give up hope of finding survivors and to investigate all possible causes of the sinking.

'Look into the causes of the incident thoroughly and leave no single piece of doubt behind,' the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

Yonhap said 24 military vessels, with air support, were involved with the search. A US rescue vessel Salvo, with more than a dozen divers on board, has also joined the operation.

Relatives of those missing have angrily demanded progress and answers from officials.

'We are running out of time,' one woman told reporters.

The 1,200-tonne Cheonan naval patrol vessel sank near the disputed maritime border with North Korea - the Northern Limit Line - but military officials say there is no indication the North was involved.

South Korea recognises the line, drawn unilaterally by the US-led United Nations Command to demarcate the sea border at the end of the Korean War.

But it has never been accepted by North Korea, and the area has been the scene of deadly clashes between the navies of the two Koreas in the past.—BBC