Death toll from South Korean ferry jumps to 150

Divers recovered 11 more bodies in their intensive search of a capsized South Korean ferry Wednesday with some 150 passengers still missing, a week after the country’s worst maritime disaster in two decades. The death toll from the sinking of the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol jumped to 150 as Coast Guard, Navy and civilian divers recovered the bodies from the cabins on the third and fourth decks and the third-deck cafeteria, where most of the missing are believed trapped, according to (Yonhap) news agency. The rescue team halted and resumed operations many times during the night due to relatively strong currents, said officials of the government task force team handling the disaster, adding that the divers successfully entered the cafeteria late Tuesday night. The team said rescue workers will continue to search around the clock as weather conditions have improved, by mobilizing a total of 212 boats, 34 aircraft and some 550 rescue workers. Noticeably, a group of 50 civilian divers using surface supplied equipment were put into the search-and-rescue operations as they can stay under water for nearly one hour, said the officials. There is an air compressor on the surface that continually provides an air to the divers through a hose, which is different from general diving when a diver’s equipment is completely self-contained and there is no link to the surface. The team, meanwhile, said it has decided to withdraw remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and other advanced equipments, including “Crabster,” from the scene due to the strong tidal currents. The team had earlier deployed two ROVs and robots designed for undersea exploration to search inside of the sunken vessel for bodies or possible survivors inside the hull. The families of the missing, meanwhile, began discussing funerals for student victims and vowed to stay at the scene until everyone has been found.