Navy
2 US Navy helicopters join search for South Korea ferry survivors
By
Stars and Stripes April 17, 2014
Ashley Rowland rowland.ashley@stripes.com
Stars and Stripes April 17, 2014
A CH-47F Chinook tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter, assigned to the 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, conducts flight operations with the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). (Michael Achterling/US Navy)
A CH-47F Chinook tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter, assigned to the 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, conducts flight operations with the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). (Michael Achterling/US Navy)
An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter lands on the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard on April 16, 2014. Sailors and Marines on board Bonhomme Richard have responded to the scene of a sinking ferry near the southwestern coast of the Republic of Korea. (US Navy)
Marines assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit prepare combat rubber raiding crafts in the hangar bay of the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard on April 16, 2014. (US Navy)
MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft stand ready Wednesday, April 16, 2014, on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, which is responding to the scene of the South Korean passenger ship Sewol that sank that day off the southwestern coast of the Republic of Korea. (Adam D. Wainwright/U.S. Navy)
MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft sit on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Bonhomme Richard was headed to the scene of the sinking of the South Korean passenger ferry Sewol to offer assistance in rescue and recovery efforts. (Adam D. Wainwright/U.S. Navy)
SEOUL — Two U.S. Navy helicopters began assisting Thursday morning in the search for survivors of a ferry that sank off the southwestern tip of South Korea a day earlier.
Almost 290 people, many of them high school students on a school trip to a popular resort island, remain missing. Nine people are confirmed dead, according to media reports.
Lt. Arlo Abrahamson, spokesman for Commander, Naval Forces Korea, said two MH-60 helicopters operating off the USS Bonhomme Richard are searching an area about five to 15 nautical miles, or 6 to 17 miles, from the disaster site at the request of the South Korean commander directing the search. He did not know why they had been asked to search that area.
Abrahamson said he did not know whether other U.S. military assets would be called to assist in the search.
Approximately 3,000 sailors and Marines are aboard the Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship that also carries MV-22 Ospreys. The ship is now about 20 to 25 nautical miles, or 23 to 29 miles, from the wreckage of the Sewol, the 6,325-ton ferry that was en route to Jeju Island when it sent out a distress signal shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The Bonhomme Richard had finished taking part in a large-scale U.S.-South Korean amphibious landing operation earlier this month and was conducting routine operations in waters west of the Korean peninsula Wednesday when it received a request to provide assistance.
"It was just past noon today (Wednesday) when we received the call to assist and we immediately altered course toward the site of the sinking vessel and came up to “All Ahead Flank”, our highest possible speed," read a post attributed to Capt. Joey "JT" Tynch, the commanding officer of the Bonhomme Richard, on the ship's Facebook page. "The thoughts and prayers of all of us aboard BHR are with the passengers and crew of the Korean ferry Sewol and their families," the message said.
Two MH-60s equipped with lifeboats were initially dispatched to the disaster site but were recalled.
High currents and worsening weather are expected to make search and rescue operations more difficult Thursday.
“The U.S. Navy is standing by and ready to assist as requested by our Korean partners,” Abrahamson said. “We continue to keep in close contact with the on-scene commander.”