Seoul, June 6 (IANS/EFE): Divers recovered another body Friday from the ferry Sewol, which sank April 16 killing 304 people, bringing the number of bodies recovered to 290.
The rescue teams recovered the male body from the prow on the third deck, according to Yonhap.
After the last recovery, 14 other bodies still remain trapped inside.
The rescue teams are now planning to break the hull around the third and fourth floors of the ship to enter inside the still inaccessible cabins where more bodies are believed to be trapped.
Apart from third and fourth floors, the rescuers are combing the foyer of the fifth floor.
The authorities have ruled out the possibility of pulling the ship out of the water until the families of the victims still believed to be trapped give their consent.
The 6,825-tonne Sewol was sailing from Incheon city, east to Seoul, to the southern island of Jeju when it sank facing the southeastern coast of the Korean peninsula with over 300 passengers aboard.
Investigations revealed that the ferry was carrying triple its capacity, and had gone through remodelling two years ago to extend it capacity.
The de facto owner of the sunken ferry, South Korean millionaire Yoo Byun-eun, is still absconding after authorities slapped multiple charges on him for security and financial irregularities.