Rescue continues in S Korea ship sinking, 46 still missing

SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The rescue operation to search for the 46 missing sailors in South Korean ship sinking is still under way on Saturday, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported.

This undated picture shows South Korea's Cheonan naval ship in South  Korea, Friday, March 26, 2010. South Korea's military scrambled Cheonan  naval vessels to the western waters near the disputed maritime border  with North Korea late Friday after an explosion ripped a hole in the  bottom of a military ship, officials and news reports said.  (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

So far, 58 out of the 104 crew members aboard the 1,200-ton ship that sank late Friday off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula have been rescued, with two of them hospitalized for minor cerebral hemorrhage.

The cause of the incident is unknown yet and President Lee Myung-bak demanded at the second emergency meeting with security officials earlier in the day a "quick and thorough" investigation and rescuing the missing by all means.

Lee also ordered related nations engaged in the six-party talks be informed of proper information about the incident while urging government agencies to take measures to reassure the public, Presidential Office spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said at a press briefing after the meeting.

Kim added that there are no special movements by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) so far.