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The death toll in a ferry disaster off the South Korean coast has risen to at least 87 as divers continue to retrieve more bodies from the sunken vessel.
This comes after divers recovered at least 22 bodies from the third and fourth floors of the five-story vessel yesterday.The government’s Emergency Response Centre said earlier yesterday that search will pick up speed given favourable weather conditions and guideline ropes.

Meanwhile, South Korean president Park Geun-hye says the actions of the captain and crew of the ferry that sank last week were akin to murder.

In a meeting with the families of the victims of the capsized ferry, Park said it was clear Captain Lee Joon-seok had unnecessarily delayed the evacuation of passengers as the ferry started sinking and then deserted them by escaping first.

Captain Lee has been in police custody along with two other crew members since Saturday.  He is charged with negligence and failing to secure the safety of passengers.
Four other crew members were detained early today.

The captain has defended his decision to wait before ordering an evacuation that survivors say came 30 minutes after the boat was listed.

The ferry capsized during a journey from Incheon in the northwest to the southern island of Jindo Hundreds of people were on board.
Nearly 215 people – most of them high school students, are still missing. — Press TV.