- DAEJEON, South Korea: South Korea laid to rest 46 sailors killed in the sinking of a navy warship during an emotional and solemn burial Thursday, as officials vowed retaliation against those responsible for what many believe was a North Korean attack.
Wailing families placed white chrysanthemums, burned incense and bowed in front of the framed photos of the men before their cremated ashes were buried at the country's national cemetery in the central city of Daejeon. Buddhist and Christian clergy offered prayers, a navy band played a dirge and troops fired a rifle salute.
Some mothers clad in black Korean traditional mourning dress wailed uncontrollably, touching photos of their sons and their urns wrapped in white cloth.
"It's your mother! Please answer me! Please answer me!" one mother shouted.
The sailors went down with the 1,200-ton Cheonan near the tense western sea border with North Korea on March 26 shortly after it was split in two by what investigators believe was an underwater blast from outside the ship.
Fifty-eight people survived the disaster, and the bodies of 40 of the sailors were recovered, while six others remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead. Hair and nails from the missing were burned and those ashes were among those buried Thursday. Seamen and air force pilots in South Korea are required to submit bits of hair and nail in case they die in action and their remains cannot be recovered to ensure there is something to be buried in line with Confucian tradition.