The death toll in the ferry disaster in South Korea rose to 58 Sunday morning — four days after the vessel capsized.
As more bodies are pulled from the water, a newly-released transcript showing the interaction between a crew member and the Jindo Vehicle Traffic Service shows how dire the situation was on the ship. (Via Arirang)
An unidentified crew member first said passengers weren't able to move because the ship had leaned over too much. A short time later, the crew member said it was impossible for passengers to escape. (Via CBS)
Now, CNN reports more than 550 divers are helping in the search effort for the nearly 250 passengers who are still missing after the ferry sank.
"Dive teams have been going out in groups, in teams, and they enter in the ferry using five different entry points. And they're searching the inside of the boat. They're searching the hallways and the cabins. They're also searching the area outside the boat as well."
According to Al Jazeera, the recovery effort is moving faster as those divers have been able to get inside the ship and get bodies out from there.
The development is likely welcome news for the families of the missing who have called it a slow recovery mission. The BBC reports police stopped about 100 family members who were trying to march to Seoul to protest the recovery effort.
Fox News notes the head of one of the groups sending divers underwater says it's unlikely the divers will find any survivors this long after the ferry capsized.
The captain of the doomed vessel was arrested after he allegedly abandoned ship. Two other crew members were also arrested. A prosecutor in South Korea says the crew member steering the ferry when it capsized was navigating in that waterway for the first time.
