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World & Nation

South Korea ferry: Death toll at 36; hope fades for finding survivors

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Lee Joon-seok, captain of the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol, arrives Nov. 11 at Gwangju District Court for verdicts in the trial of the ship’s crew on charges of negligence and abandonment of passengers in the April disaster.   (Hyung Min-woo / Associated Press)
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Yoo Dae-gyun, eldest son of the sunken ferry’s owner, is surrounded by reporters at the Incheon district prosecutors’ office in July. A South Korean court convicted three relatives of the owner and other associates of corruption, about four months after the owner was found dead. Yoo Dae-gyun was sentenced to three years in prison.   (Han Jong-chan / Associated Press)
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An unidentified family member of passengers aboard the sunken ferry Sewol cries in October as she demands maximum punishment for the crew members during their trial in Gwangju, South Korea.  (Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press)
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Family members of passengers aboard the sunken ferry Sewol wipe away tears Nov. 7 after South Korea’s National Assembly in Seoul approved plans to disband the coast guard in the wake of criticism over its failure to rescue hundreds of passengers when the ferry sank.  (Lee Jin-man / Associated Press)
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Portraits of the victims of the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol are seen with yellow ribbons at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul in October.  (Jung Yeon-je / AFP/Getty Images)
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Relatives of victims of the South Korean ferry sinking stage a sit-in protest demanding a meeting with President Park Geun-hye on a street near the presidential Blue House in Seoul.  (Jung Yeon-je / AFP/Getty Images)
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A bereaved man clutches a portrait of the daughter he lost in the ferry sinking as he joins families of other victims in a protest near the presidential house in Seoul.  (Kim Chul-soo / EPA)
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In an image taken with a mobile phone by Park Su-hyeon, one of the South Korean high school students lost in the accident, and released by his father, students are shown in life vests inside the ferry before they realized it was sinking.  (Park Su-hyeon / Associated Press)
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In video clips from the cellphone of victim Park Su-hyeon that were released by his father, teenagers unaware of the danger talk of taking selfies, wonder if they’ll make the news and discuss posting about the excitement later on Facebook.  (Park Su-hyeon / Associated Press)
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An image from the mobile phone of sinking victim Park Su-hyeon taken aboard the ferry.  (Park Su-hyeon / Associated Press)
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Students at the Ansan Olympic Memorial Hall weep and attach messages to an altar that offer their wishes for the safe return of those aboard the sunken South Korean ferry.   (Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images)
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In Ansan, South Korea, flowers sit on the desks of Danwon High School students killed in the sunken ferry Sewol.   (Yonhap / AFP/Getty Images)
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Search and rescue teams take part in recovery operations at the site of the sunken ferry Sewol off the coast of the South Korean island of Jindo.   (Ed Jones / AFP/Getty Images)
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A man pays tribute at a group memorial altar for victims of the ferry disaster off Jindo Island in South Korea.   (Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images)
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People hold candles at a vigil for students killed when a South Korean ferry capsized.  (Kim Doo-Ho / AFP/Getty Images)
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Flares light up the sea as South Korean coast guard vessels conduct recovery operations at the site of the sunken ferry Sewol off the coast of South Korea.  (Ed Jones / AFP/Getty Images)
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Bodies of passengers aboard the Sewol ferry, which sank in the water off the southern coast, are carried by rescue workers upon their arrival at a port in Jindo, South Korea. Divers continued the work of recovering bodies from inside the sunken ferry Monday, as a newly released transcript showed the ship was crippled by confusion and indecision well after it began listing. The transcript suggests that the chaos may have added to a death toll that could eventually exceed 300.  (Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press)
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A relative of a passenger aboard the sunken ferry Sewol, which is in the water off the southern coast, watches the official list of the dead victims at a port in Jindo, South Korea, on Monday.  (Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press)
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A relative of a passenger onboard capsized South Korean ferry Sewol weeps in an area where family members of victims of the disaster are gathered at Jindo harbor.  (Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)
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A South Korean army medic assists a family member of missing passengers on the sunken ferry Sewol at Jindo gymnasium on Jindo Island in the southwestern province of South Jeolla, South Korea.  (Jeon Heon-Kyun / EPA)
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South KoreaNavy’s Underwater Demolition Team members work during a search operation for missing people at the site of a ferry sinking off Jindo port on Jindo Island in the southwestern province of South Jeolla, South Korea.  (Kimimasa Mayama / EPA)
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South Korean Coast Guard officers conduct a rescue operation around the passenger ferry Sewol sinking in waters off the southwestern coast of South Korea.  (Yonhap / EPA)
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A woman cries at a port in South Korea near where a passenger ferry sank with hundreds on board.   (Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images)
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An aerial photo shows rescue operations for passengers aboard a South Korean ferry that capsized. Nearly 300 people were missing.  (Yonhap / AFP/Getty Images)
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South Korean Coast Guard officers conduct a rescue operation around passenger ferry Sewol, sinking in waters off the coast of South Korea.  (South Korea Coast Guard / EPA)
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A still image taken from video shows a helicopter rescue of passengers stranded on a ferry sinking off South Korea’s southern coast near Jindo, south of Seoul.  (Yonhap / Associated Press)
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Relatives of missing passengers of the South Korean passenger ferry that sank Wednesday gather at a gym in Jindo to await news from rescue teams.  (Jung Yeon-Je / AFP/Getty Images)
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South Korean Coast Guard officers conduct a rescue operation around the passenger ferry Sewol, sinking off the southwestern coast of South Korea.  (South Korean Coast Guard / EPA)
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A mother weeps as she and others search for their children’s names among a list of survivors rescued from a ferry that sank off South Korea’s southern coast.  (Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press)
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A child rescued from the sinking passenger ferry Sewol receives medical attention from doctors at a port on Jindo Island, South Korea.  (Yonhap / EPA)
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An injured passenger is transported by rescue workers after passenger ferry Sewol sank in waters off South Korea’s southern coast.   (Yonhap / EPA)
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Relatives wait for news of those missing after a passenger ferry carrying 459 people sank off of South Korea’s southern coast.   (Jung Yeon-Je / AFP/Getty Images)
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Parents wait for a bus to meet with children rescued from a ferry that sank off the South Korea’s southern coast.  (Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press)
By Steven Borowiec
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<i>This post has been updated with the latest developments.</i>

SEOUL — The official death toll in South Korea’s ferry disaster rose to 36 early Sunday. In a sign that hope had run out for finding survivors, authorities have asked relatives of the missing to provide DNA samples to expedite the task of identifying bodies.

More than 260 people were still listed as missing and the ship remained submerged off the southern coast. Cranes to hoist the vessel upright were brought to the site, but strong currents prevented authorities from deploying them.

Korean coast guard official Kim Kwang-hyun told the Associated Press that divers had retrieved three bodies from inside a ferry by breaking a window, raising the death toll to 36 people.

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Meanwhile, in comments made to reporters during his police arraignment and broadcast on Saturday, the captain explained the decision to tell passengers — including hundreds of high school students — to remain seated after the vessel began taking on water and eventually sank Wednesday.

PHOTOS: South Korea ferry sinks

The captain, Lee Joon-seok, said the decision was made out of fear that passengers would be swept away if they went out on deck. He also noted that at the time of the announcement rescue boats had not yet arrived. However, that failed to explain why he was among the first off the boat; in cases of such a disaster, South Korea’s Seafarers Act requires the captain to remain on the ship until passengers are off.

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Lee and two of his subordinates have been arrested as authorities investigate how the ship capsized and whether the crew followed proper evacuation procedures.

The Sewol was en route from Incheon, on South Korea’s northwest coast, to the southern resort island of Jeju when it turned sharply, listed and began taking on water.

Borowiec is a special correspondent.

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