Japan has supplied South Korean authorities with original blueprints of the sunken ferry Sewol as investigators probe whether subsequent renovations could have contributed to the ship's capsizing and sinking two weeks ago, South Korean government sources said Wednesday.
South Korean investigators obtained the plans for the ship — which operated in Japan from 1994-2012 as the Naminoue — through diplomatic channels last week, the sources said. South Korean authorities are continuing search operations for the 92 passengers still missing after the ferry sunk off Jindo Island in the country's southwest on April 16. So far 210 people have been confirmed dead.
The sources said investigators are considering whether work done by South Korean operator Chonghaejin Marine Co. after it purchased the Sewol in 2012 could have shifted the ship's center of gravity higher, making it more likely to capsize.