Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- A South Korean investigator said Friday that an "external explosion" was the most likely cause of the mysterious sinking of a naval ship in which 46 South Korean sailors were lost in tense waters off the North Korean coast. "There is a higher possibility of an external rather than an internal explosion," Yoon Duk-yong, the co-head of a government-appointed team to investigate the March 26 sinking of the corvette Cheonan, said Friday in a televised press conference. 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.
@highlight
South Korean investigators say naval ship was sunk by external blast
@highlight
Wreckage of vessel was raised from Yellow Sea floor on Thursday
@highlight
Of 104 crew members, 58 were rescued after explosion
@highlight
South Korean media rife with speculation over what caused blast
North Korean
If forensic evidence does point to @placeholder involvement, it is unclear what moves South Korea could take against a country that has artillery ranged in on Seoul, and which is believed to possess at least six nuclear devices..
Seoul
If forensic evidence does point to North Korean involvement, it is unclear what moves South Korea could take against a country that has artillery ranged in on @placeholder, and which is believed to possess at least six nuclear devices..