DHAKA: South Korean President Park Geun-hye has condemned the conduct of some of the crew of the ferry that sank last week, calling it "akin to murder".

Ms Park said that those to blame would have to take "criminal and civil" responsibility for their actions.

Divers are continuing to recover bodies from the ferry, as they gain access to more of the submerged hull.

The death toll now stands at 64, with 238 people still missing, most of them students from a school near Seoul.

Bodies are being brought two or three at a time back to Jindo, a southern island close to where the ferry sank.

Police, meanwhile, have been given access to hundreds of messages sent by passengers and crew so they can construct a detailed chronology of the ferry`s last hour.

Ms Park, whose government has faced criticism over its initial response to the disaster, told aides that the actions of the captain and some of the crew "were utterly incomprehensible, unacceptable and tantamount to murder", the presidential office said.

A total of 174 passengers were rescued from the Sewol, which capsized as it sailed from Incheon in the north-west to the southern island of Jeju.

But there were 476 people on board - including 339 children and teachers on a school trip. Many were trapped inside the ship as is listed to one side and then sank.

Source: BBC
BDST: 1038 HRS, APR 21, 2014