Divers have removed the first bodies from a South Korean ferry that capsized last week with 476 people on board.
All three dead were wearing lifejackets, according to a coastguard official, adding that two were male but the third's gender was not immediately confirmed.
"Divers broke through the window of a passenger cabin just before midnight and pulled out three bodies," the official said.The coastguard official said the dead were the same three bodies that had been spotted, but not retrieved, during an earlier dive.
Thirty-six people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, but 266 are still missing.Rescue teams planned to continue dive missions through Saturday night and Sunday morning to the ferry which capsized on Wednesday morning.Officials have warned, however, that the recovery operation could take as long as two months.
Three giant floating cranes are alongside the sunken ship, but officials say they will not be used until it is certain there is nobody alive inside the ferry."
Lifting the ship does not mean they will remove it completely from the sea. They can lift it two to three metres off the seabed," a coastguard spokesman said.
All three dead were wearing lifejackets, according to a coastguard official, adding that two were male but the third's gender was not immediately confirmed.
"Divers broke through the window of a passenger cabin just before midnight and pulled out three bodies," the official said.The coastguard official said the dead were the same three bodies that had been spotted, but not retrieved, during an earlier dive.
Thirty-six people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, but 266 are still missing.Rescue teams planned to continue dive missions through Saturday night and Sunday morning to the ferry which capsized on Wednesday morning.Officials have warned, however, that the recovery operation could take as long as two months.
Three giant floating cranes are alongside the sunken ship, but officials say they will not be used until it is certain there is nobody alive inside the ferry."
Lifting the ship does not mean they will remove it completely from the sea. They can lift it two to three metres off the seabed," a coastguard spokesman said.