Posted on 03/27/2010 5:17:40 AM PDT by jhpigott
SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Friday's Navy ship sinking might be caused by mine explosion, South Korean media YTN quoted Cheong Wa Dae sources as saying on Saturday.
But both the government and the military authorities said the exact cause of the incident cannot be pinpointed yet.
South Korean officials are narrowing down the possibilities that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is involved in the incident.
"It is hard to say for sure now, but chances appear to be slim that North (DPRK) was related," a senior official told Yonhap on the condition of anonymity.
There has been no unusual movements by the DPRK so far, Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said at a press briefing after President Lee Myung-bak convened a second emergency meeting with security officials earlier Saturday.
Parts of some World War II naval minefields still exist, because they are too extensive and expensive to clear; some of these mines might remain dangerous for hundreds of years (Wiki, unfortunately...)
I didn't know the NorKs had mines. Mine kinda creep me out, always walking around not saying anything in their freaky white face, and striped shirts.
Sorry, as soon as I saw your post, I got an image of Marcell Marseaux [sp?] pantomining an explosion.
It was caused by an “Enemy Glider”.
Random, (scribbles down notes), got it thanks. I was getting too conditioned to "unexpected" things happening.
/s
- that narrows it down alot. Looks like either a torpedo or a mine
“There is no possibility whatsoever that the ship sank due to an internal explosion or a collision with a reef. I guarantee that,” a navy lieutenant was quoted as saying by participants in a briefing session organized by the Navy’s Second Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province — the home port of the ill-fated ship.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/03/27/201003270064.asp
Eyewitness reports starting to roll in: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...5rx8gD9EMUDG80
Excerpts:
Quote:
The explosion at the rear of the Cheonan shut down its engine, wiped out power and caused the ship to sink a little over three hours later, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
A survivor, Staff Sgt. Shin Eun-chong, 24, told relatives he was on night duty when he heard a huge boom behind him that split the ship apart. The vessel started tilting, and his glasses fell off his face as he hit the deck, relatives at a naval base in Pyeongtaek told The Associated Press.
Military planes and boats were searching the waters near South Korea’s Baengnyeong Island where the 1,200-ton Cheonan had been on a routine patrol mission. Among the missing was a marine who had survived a 2002 naval skirmish with North Korea, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.
“Yells and screams filled the air,” witness Kim Jin-ho, a seaman who was on a local passenger ship bound for Baengnyeong, told cable news channel YTN. “Marines on deck were desperately shouting: ‘Save me!’”
“Probably a “random” mine.
Random mines are a well documented feature — they pop up at the most unexpected times - scientists are investigating this as we speak - one leading theory connects these events with global climate change known to be caused by a former US President...”
Hahaha, nice post. Has pMSNBC called and offered you a time slot yet?
Maybe they were testing a missile?
“NOT North Korea? Where did the mine come from?”
My guess is Elliot Carver, head of Carver News Network.
Yeah did you hear about this Tiger
Maybe it was a drive-by mining incident?? Maybe the Crips or Bloods??
Amish again.
I hear the Amish got da bomb now.... the Amishbomb!
“Has pMSNBC called and offered you a time slot yet?”
They said they are looking at the 3:15 AM to 3:30 AM slot between infomercials :)
“Could have” is the operative phrase - but, alas, the offer came too late... I’d already accepted an offer from Time Magazine... :)
Al Queda? Not a bad guess, actually-—who would like to see a fight break out between the Koreas? Someone who would like US out of their hair (read: middle east). Am I the only one who remembers the USS San Francisco, our sub that supposedly hit bottom not too far south of here? I still haven’t convinced myself that wasn’t a mine they hit-—no gravel in the drydock during washdown?
Witness was on a local passenger ship——this is an extremely heavily travelled corridor which rules out an old mine. And the SK ship took the hit in the stern, which a mine could have done if the ship happened to be turning. The initial mystery to me is why they lost so many crew-—all that’s back there is engine room, mostly un-manned-—they surely don’t bunk in the engine room? Does it take 30 Koreans to man the stern watch? The key will be in whether the SK’s are willing to solve the puzzle-—and say so.
ka-boom!!
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