The stricken South Korean Sewol ferry [Photo: CGTN]

The stricken South Korean Sewol ferry fully emerged from the water at around 21:15 local time on Saturday.

The salvage operation was conducted by China’s Shanghai Salvage Company.

A total of 304 people, most of whom were high school students on a school trip, died when the ferry sank on April 16, 2014, with investigators concluding that the sinking was a man-made disaster. Nine bodies are still unaccounted for.

A search for the bodies of the missing nine will begin when the ship arrives at the port of Mokpo, scheduled to be as early as next Tuesday or Wednesday, reported South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing Lee Cheol-jo, a senior official at the country's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.