Death toll hits 108 as divers pull more bodies from sunken ferry

Coast Guard, Navy and civilian divers recovered more than 40 bodies Monday from a sunken ferry off South Korea's southwest coast as they continued a desperate search for missing passengers.

The death toll from the capsized ferry Sewol rose to 104 as of 9:35 a.m., Tuesday, including three foreign victims, as divers focused their search on the third and fourth decks of the five-story vessel, where most of those unaccounted for are believed to have been trapped.

Hundreds of divers struggled to search inside ship for 198 people who remain missing after the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol capsized off the southwestern coast of Jindo on a foggy Wednesday morning.

Of the 476 people on board, only 174 passengers, including the ferry's captain and most of its crew, were rescued after the boat, en route from the western port city of Incheon to the southern resort island of Jeju, listed due to what is believed to have been a sharper than usual turn.

The dining hall on the third floor, in particular, has been cited as one of several areas where many of the passengers are expected to be found, along with lounges and shopping areas.

"So far, divers have set up a total of five guide lines.
Multiple rescue workers have been trying to enter inside the boat at the same time to speed up operations," said Ko Myeong-seok, a spokesman for the government task force handling the disaster, referring to lines that help workers move down to and inside the sunken vessel.

souce by : http://khnews.kheraldm.com/view.php?ud=20140422000092&md=20140422162236_BK&kr=1