Seoul, April 23 (IANS): The toll in last week's ferry capsize off South Korea's southwestern coast rose to 150 Wednesday as hundreds of divers worked on recovering bodies from the submerged vessel.

As the search and rescue operation entered the eighth day since the ferry sank April 16, 152 people are still missing, with the number of those rescued unchanged at 174, Xinhua reported.

Search operations were suspended and then resumed as tidal currents became faster than forecast overnight.

The waters off Jindo island, where the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol capsized, are known for the country's second-fastest currents. A weather forecast said that the currents would slow down for four days through Thursday.

The water temperature was around 11-12 degrees Celsius in the morning, with waves being as high as 0.5 metres.

Some 550 Coast Guard, Navy and private divers continued to search inside the submerged vessel, while 212 rescue ships and 34 planes scoured the waters for the missing.