Seoul: The toll in the South Korean ferry mishap April 16 rose to 185 Friday amid rising concerns that many bodies have floated far away from the accident scene.
Two more bodies were recovered from the submerged vessel which sank off the country’s southwestern coast, raising the death toll to 185 Friday night, with 117 people still missing. The number of those rescued remains unchanged at 174, Xinhua reported.
The number of bodies recovered dwindled since Thursday as tidal currents in the area became stronger than expected.
The waters off Jindo Island, known for the country’s second fastest currents, were forecast to slow down for four days from Monday, but the flow speeded up from Thursday when 15 bodies were recovered.
Divers found 38 bodies Wednesday after discovering 36 bodies Tuesday and 28 Monday.
Among the 185 bodies recovered so far, more than 40 were found in waters near the submerged ship.
Eight trawlers were scouring the area for floating bodies, but some feared that many bodies may have been swept away by swift currents as fishnets to prevent the bodies floating away were installed only on Tuesday, six days after the accident.
The tidal currents have become faster and rain is expected from Saturday, raising possibilities of bodies being swept away.
The government disaster response headquarters said that 88 divers searched passenger cabins on the third and fourth floors of the five-storey vessel from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On the previous day, 81 divers hunted for bodies in the middle part of the third floor and cabins on the fourth floor on the stern side.
For night operations, jigging fishing boats, which catch squids, were deployed to provide light for rescue ships and divers.
A diving bell, a rigid chamber to transport divers deep into the ocean, will be used to offer a room with a decompression device.
The US Navy’s salvage ship USS Safeguard is scheduled to arrive at the scene at about 3 a.m. Saturday to help in rescue efforts. US Navy divers will join the search operations, if needed.
Rescue experts from the US, the Netherlands, Britain and Japan have been providing advice on rescue operations, the headquarters said.
US President Barack Obama voiced his condolences over the ferry disaster as he arrived in Seoul Friday for a summit meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
The US president also sent magnolia saplings, taken from the White House, to Danwon High School in Ansan, a city south of Seoul.
Among the 476 passengers aboard the sunken vessel were 325 students of the high school and 14 teachers.