Posted on 03/29/2010 10:49:07 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
A mysterious blast that tore a South Korean warship in half might have been caused by a mine dating back to the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul’s defence minister said Monday.
Forty-six sailors are missing after the Cheonan, a 1,200-tonne corvette, sank in the Yellow Sea Friday night near the tense disputed border with North Korea, in one of the country’s worst sea disasters.
The area was the scene of deadly naval clashes in 1999 and 2002, and of a firefight last November. But Seoul officials say there is no evidence so far Pyongyang attacked the Cheonan.
Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young told parliament’s defence committee there were no signs of a torpedo attack ahead of the explosion, citing accounts of rescued sailors who were operating the ship’s radar.
“It is possible that a North Korean sea mine could have drifted into our area,” he said.
The North brought in about 4,000 mines from the Soviet Union during the war and placed about 3,000 of them in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan (East Sea), he said.
“Though many mines were removed, it must have been impossible to retrieve them all,” he said.
One was found in 1959 and another in 1984, the minister said, although an extensive South Korean search in 2008 did not trace any.
(Excerpt) Read more at nst.com.my ...
60 year old mine floating around in salt water for nearly 6 decades or so is still going to be operational?
Give me a break...
It’s gone from a tin fish, engine explosion, magically appearing hole to now a 60 year old mine. Next it will be killer flounder or a pissed off crab.
They are still finding shells filled with Mustard gas left over from WWI. Belgian farmers are constantly digging up old shells.
They are still finding shells filled with Mustard gas left over from WWI. Belgian farmers are constantly digging up old shells.
nope it was the center fuel tank
I understand that, but having spent over 20 years in the Navy, on 4 differant ships, I can tell you sea water isn't kind to metal objects.
Its a plausble theory. Notice I said theory
The problem I have with the “ancient mine” theory is that the explosion appears to have occurred at the stern of the ship. If it were a floating mine, I would expect it to have occurred at the bow.
Modern mines, however, are different animals.
The trigger could have been built with delay to damage the propulsion systems...
Hey it is not good to irritate crabs.
Are we talking about a cousin to The Incredible Mr. Limpet, oh, how the tide has turned.
But of course, and no doubt some old mines left over from the cold war blew up the subways in Russia.
South Korea wimping out a la Obama . Scary ...I’m in Japan where wacko ( more wacko than the LDP ) Socialists are allegedly in power .
The nice thing about a mine is that the perpetrator can deny responsibility and still “send a message”. And have the pleasure of killing some people. They really are rat bastards.
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