Confirmed death toll in South Korea ferry disaster passes 100

The confirmed death toll in South Korea's ferry disaster crosses 100, but almost twice that number remain unaccounted for nearly a week into the rescue and recovery effort 

Jindo: The confirmed death toll in South Korea's ferry disaster crossed 100 today, but almost twice that number remained unaccounted for nearly a week into the rescue and recovery effort.

This photo taken at sea some 20 kilometres off the island of Byungpoong in Jindo on April 16, 2014 shows coast guard members searching for passengers near a South Korean ferry (C) that capsized on its way to Jeju island from Incheon. Pic: AFP

The official toll provided by the coastguard stood at 104, with 198 still missing. The 6,825-tonne Sewol was carrying 476 people - most of them schoolchildren - when it capsized and sank last Wednesday.

Some 174 people, including the captain and most of his crew, were rescued. The expected final death toll of around 300 would make this one of South Korea's worst peacetime disasters.

A Seoul department store collapsed in 1995, killing more than 500 people, while nearly 300 people died when a ferry capsized off the west coast in 1993.

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