Sewol ferry disaster: More suspected human bones recovered from South Korea's sunken ship

The sinking of Sewol was one of the worst-ever maritime disasters of South Korea.

The sunken ferry Sewol sits on a semi-submersible ship during its salvage operations at the sea off Jindo, South Korea, in this handout picture provided by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries
The sunken ferry Sewol sits on a semi-submersible ship during its salvage operations at the sea off Jindo, South Korea, in this handout picture provided by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Reuters

More suspected human bones were recovered on Saturday from South Korea's sunken Sewol ferry as a part of the search that began when the ship was salvaged in March.

Three years ago, the 6,800-tonne vessel sank off the country's southwestern coast killing more than 300 people, mostly high school students on an excursion.

"Bones were recovered Saturday from the fourth deck near the stern," the maritime ministry said in a statement. It added that the forensic experts have sent the bones for DNA tests. The results will be known in a month.

The sinking of Sewol was one of the worst-ever maritime disasters of South Korea. It dealt a crushing blow to now-ousted president Park Geun-Hye. Reports said nine of the victims' bodies have yet to be recovered.

Sifting through silt and debris piled up inside the hull, workers have been retrieving bones every day since Wednesday when suspected human bones were found inside the wreck for the first time.

Last week, a diver combing the sea bed where the ferry had been lying found a bone fragment believed to be from a human shin.

In March, the ministry announced that human bone fragments had been found under the hull of the ship. However, the DNA tests confirmed they were from pigs leading to the ministry's embarrassment.

The investigations revealed that numerous human factors, including an illegal redesign, an overloaded cargo bay and inexperienced crew, was the cause of the disaster.

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