MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) – The confirmed death toll in last week’s South Korean ferry disaster has reached 150, with around the same number of people still missing, the local Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday.
Divers have recovered another 11 bodies from inside the cabins on the third and fourth decks and the third-deck cafeteria, where most of the missing people are believed to have been trapped, the report said.
Earlier media reports said 139 people had been confirmed dead in the tragedy.
Around 550 divers are taking part in the rescue operation, which also involves 212 boats and 34 aircraft. The rescue team halted and resumed operations many times at night due to relatively strong currents, the report said.
The passenger ferry Sewol, carrying 476 passengers, 323 of which were students, sank off South Korea's coast on April 16 after departing the northwestern town of Incheon on its way to the southern island of Jeju. A total of 174 people were rescued shortly after the vessel sank.
Some people were arrested in connection to the disaster, including the ferry’s captain, Lee Jun-seok. He faces a prison sentence of up to life imprisonment. Investigators believe the captain was one of the first to leave the sinking ship in the guise of a passenger. Moreover, passengers complained that the crew did not take appropriate measures during the crash to evacuate the ferry, instead urging everyone to remain seated.
