South Korean ferry toll hits 32 as 3 bodies are found
MOKPO, South Korea — South Korean coast guard officials say they’ve found three more bodies from the sinking of a ferry, raising the death toll to 32.
Coast guard spokesman Kim Jae-in says the latest bodies were recovered Saturday, three days after the ferry sank.
PHOTOS: South Korea ferry sinks
The updated death toll follows the arrest Saturday of the captain of the ferry on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need. More than 300 are missing or dead.
Officials say strong currents and rain have made it difficult to get inside the ferry, where most of the passengers are believed to have been trapped.
Prosecutors say the ferry’s captain, 68-year-old Lee Joon-seok, was arrested along with the third mate, a 25-year-old woman identified only by her surname, Park, and 55-year-old helmsman Cho Joon-ki.
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