South Korean ferry toll reaches 113

The toll in last week's South Korean ferry capsize off the country's southwestern coast reached 113 Tuesday as divers searched intensively inside the submerged hull. So far, 113 people have been confirmed dead, and 189 others are still missing. The number of those rescued has been changed to 174, Xinhua reported.

Koh Myung-seok, spokesman of the pan-government response centre, said earlier that the number of passengers on board the vessel could be changed in accordance with search and rescue operations, noting the figure would be flexible. Koh cited some variables such as the incorrect list of passengers submitted by the ship's operator and unregistered passengers with a vehicle. Under local regulations, passengers with a vehicle are allowed to board the ship by registering their plate number. Two of the three bodies which were retrieved Monday were Chinese. Whereas, the third body is that of a Russian girl which is still yet to be confirmed.

The 6,825-tonne ferry Sewol had departed from the western port city of Incheon last week Tuesday night for the southern resort island of Jeju, carrying 476 people, including 325 high school students and 15 teachers, on a four-day field trip.