Sewol ferry disaster: Divers recover 150 bodies

The death toll from the South Korea ferry disaster has risen to 150 as divers continue to recover dead bodies from the sunken vessel. Officials with the South Korean government announced yesterday that the families of the victims of the tragedy would receive compensation in the amount of 260 million won (250,000 US dollars).

One of the victims of the disaster is a 16-year-old Russian man. The man will be buried in the town of Ansan, where he studied and where his family resides, officials with the Russian Embassy in the Republic of Korea said.

The Russian citizen was a member in a large group of high school students from Danwon High School of Ansan, who boarded the Sewol ferry last Wednesday for a trip from the port of Incheon to the resort island of Jeju.

On April 21, divers recovered the bodies of two Chinese nationals from the body of the sunken ship. According to the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, were two other citizens of China on board the ferry, who are still unaccounted for. There were two citizens of the Philippines on the Sewol, who managed to escape to safety.

The ferry sank on April 16 at the south-western coast of South Korea, 20 kilometers from the island of Penphundo. The vessel was traveling on a regular route from the port of Incheon to Jeju Island. On board the ferry there were 476 people. Most of the passengers are still unaccounted for.