State panel to be wrapped up

A state panel that has investigated the 'Sewol' sinking will wrap up its effort to determine the exact cause of the accident which killed more than 300 passengers. Launched in July l2017, the eight-member panel will close its official operations on Aug 6 and hold a press conference to explain its activities over the past 13 months. The fact-finding body has played a key role in handling various issues like searching for missing bodies after the salvage effort to refloat the ill-fated 6,800 ton-ship in April last year was completed. It has looked inside the hull and conducted a number of simulations to find out what made the ship sink. But the panel failed to arrive at a clear conclusion as its members were split over the cause of the accident. Some argue that the ferry capsized due to a sudden turn and overloading, while others say the ship was struck by an unidentified object. Later on, a separate special panel will take over responsibility and continue fact-finding operations. After the ship was raised from the water, the remains of five missing passengers were found on board. Report with photo: english.yonhapnew...