South Korean ferry death toll rises to 242 By CNN Staff May 4, 2014

South Korean ferry death toll rises to 242

By CNN Staff

May 4, 2014 -- Updated 0254 GMT (1054 HKT)

A girl in Seoul, South Korea, holds a candle during a service paying tribute to the victims of the sunken ferry Sewol on Wednesday, April 30. More than 200 bodies have been found and nearly 100 people remain missing after the ferry sank April 16 off South Korea's southwest coast.

HIDE CAPTION

South Korean ferry sinks

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

>

>>

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• South Korean Coast guard: The death toll rises to 242, with 60 missing
• The ferry sank April 16 on the country's southwest coast
• Report: Search is expected to last throughout next week

(CNN) -- The grim reality has begun to set in for the relatives of those aboard the South Korean Sewol ferry, as officials have confirmed yet more deaths.

The search-and-rescue operation has long since turned into a grueling recovery of corpses. No one has been found alive since the day the ship sank. The work has become even more difficult as divers have had to break through closed cabin doors blocked by debris, according to the semiofficial Yonhap News Agency.

Over a 24-hour span, the South Korean coast guard confirmed 14 more deaths, totaling 242, with 60 people still missing.

Ferry survivors honor lost classmates

The ferry sank April 16 while en route from Incheon to Jeju, a resort island off the nation's southwestern coast.

Videos capturing ferry's final moments fuel fresh outrage

Images of ferry captain abandoning ship are shocking

Ferry disaster's toll on South Korea's national psyche