One more body was recovered Thursday in waters near where the ferry Sewol sank, after no progress was made over the past two weeks, officials said.
The body of a 44-year-old male passenger was found in the waters about 35 kilometers away from the sinking site, said the government’s disaster response team. The body is suspected to have been swept away from the submerged hull.
The finding raised the death toll to 289 and lowered the number of those missing to 15, according to South Korea’s News Agency (Yonhap).
The passenger was on a trip to the southern resort island of Jeju along with wife and two sons, the officials said, adding that only a 7-year-old son was rescued on the day of the sinking.
The team said it has resumed underwater operations to find those still missing as of Wednesday afternoon amid favorable weather conditions.
To boost the effectiveness of the search operations, the team said it is considering using a crane to lift up the submerged Sewol once the plan is agreed to by family members of the missing.
Also, a team of divers cast more nets around the ship to prevent bodies inside from being swept away, the officials added.