A South Korean investigator said Friday that an "external explosion" was the most likely cause of the mysterious sinking of the corvette Cheonan in which 46 South Korean sailors were lost in tense waters off the North Korean coast, CNN reports.
The Cheonan's stern section, where the missing sailors were believed to have been trapped, was raised from the Yellow Sea bottom Thursday after a salvage operation that was made both risky and difficult by low underwater visibility and strong currents. The bow section is expected to be salvaged next week.
Of the Cheonan's 104-man crew, 58 men were rescued from the sea on the night of the explosion. Thirty-eight bodies have so far been recovered; eight remain missing.
Yoon Duk-yong, the co-head of a government-appointed team said that it was necessary "to make a detailed analysis, leaving all possibilities open."
While Seoul has avoided blaming North Korea, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young has said that a sea mine or torpedo appear the most likely causes. The media has been rife with speculation -- theories aired range from an internal boiler explosion to a North Korean naval special forces attack.
North Korea's state-run media have been silent so far on the issue, and both South Korean and U.S. forces in South Korea say they have not detected any unusual moves by the armed forces of the hard-line state.