The confirmed death toll from South Korea's ferry disaster rose past 50 on Sunday as divers finally found a way inside the sunken vessel, quickly discovering more than a dozen bodies in what almost certainly is just the beginning of a massive and grim recovery effort.

About 250 people are still missing from the ship, the vast majority of them high school students who had been on a holiday trip.

The ferry, Sewol, sank Wednesday off South Korea's southern coast, but it took days for divers to get in because of strong currents and bad visibility due to foul weather.

Beginning late Saturday, when divers broke a window, and continuing into Sunday, multiple teams of divers have found various routes into the ferry, discovering bodies in different spots, a coast guard official Koh Myung-seok said at a briefing.

Thirteen bodies have been found in the ship, while six other bodies were found floating outside Sunday, bringing the official death toll to 52, the coast guard said.

Divers, who once pumped air into the ship in the slim hope that survivors were inside, have yet to find anyone alive there.

1. Various of Korean Coast Guards on Coast Guard boat examining three bodies in body bags recovered from the sea at the site of the sinking of the Sewol ferry

2. Pan Coast Guard officer walking on the boat towards the direction where bodies are being examined

3. Close up body bags

4. Wide Korean Navy boat searching in the area where the ship Seowl sank

5. Wide rescue operation

6. Wide coast guards and other rescue units searching the area where ship sank

7. Wide Korean special unit UDT Seal searching the area

8. Various of rescue units searching

9. Mid Coast guards loading a recovered body onto a Korean police boat

10. Wide Korean Coast Guards boat next to Police boat

11. Military helicopter flying over the area of the recovery mission

12. Wide crane

13. Close crane

14. Coast guards on boat

The corroding 6,800-ton ferry raised from the bottom of the sea off South Korea last week was approaching Mokpo port on Friday, where it will be searched for the remains of nine missing passengers from the 2014 sinking that killed 304.

Finding the remains of the missing victims would bring a measure of closure to one of the country's deadliest disasters.

Most of those who died when the Sewol sank on April 16, 2014, were teenagers on a school trip, triggering a national outpouring of grief and outrage over what were seen as poor rescue efforts by the government.

The anger contributed to the ousting of President Park Geun-hye, who earlier on Friday was arrested over allegations of corruption.

Once the Sewol arrives at port, it is expected to take several days for workers to disconnect it from the transport vessel, where it had been welded in place in order to maintain balance during the trip, and further empty it of water and fuel.

The ferry will then be moved to a dry dock where workers are expected to spend weeks cleaning it and evaluating it for safety.

Investigators will then begin searching for the remains of the missing victims and for clues that could further explain the cause of the sinking, which has been blamed on excessive cargo, improper storage and other issues.

Off Mokpo - 31 March 2017

1. Various of tug boats pushing transport vessel carrying wreck of Sewol ferry

2. Relatives of missing victim and media watching transport vessel and wreck from nearby by ship

3. Various of tug boats pushing transport vessel carrying wreck of Sewol ferry

4. Relative watching

5. Various of transport vessel carrying ferry docking

As the death toll in the South Korean ferry disaster climbed above 100 on Tuesday, relatives of missing passengers continued to wait and pray for news of loved ones at a port in Jindo.

However at Paengmok Port, hope had mainly turned to anger, with people blaming the government for not acting quickly enough in the initial search.

Yang Man-ho, a 45 year-old farmer who is there to support his friend whose child is missing, told media that the government stopped local ex-special forces divers from joining in the rescue operation.

"Why do the government stop civilian divers who have volunteered since day one to help, at the risk of their own lives?" He asked.

All that is left now for those at the port is to wait, as bodies continued to be carried off boats arriving back from the site and put into ambulances before being identified.

Since divers found a way over the weekend to enter the submerged ferry, the death count has shot up. Officials said on Tuesday that confirmed fatalities had reached 104, with nearly 200 people still missing.

If a body lacks identification, details such as height, hair length and clothing are posted on a white signboard for families waiting on Jindo island to check.

The bodies are then driven to two tents: one for men and boys, the other for women and girls.

Families listen quietly outside as an official briefs them, then line up and file in. Only relatives are allowed inside.

AP TELEVISION

1. Various of volunteer at the port and friend of one of the missing passengers sitting by sea with head in hands

2. Various of people looking out to sea

3. Boat going out to sea

4. Various of Buddhist monk chanting mantra and beating woodblock by sea

5. Police officer on pier

6. Various of relatives crouching on pier

7. Yang Man-ho, who is at the port to support a friend whose child is missing, crying UPSOUND (Korean) "Please save them, please save them. Citizens please save them."

8. Close of Yang

9. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Yang Man-ho, at port supporting his friend whose child is missing:

"The citizens need to know this. Why do the government stop civilian divers who have volunteered since day one to help, at the risk of their own lives? The ex-special forces association in Jindo said on day one they would help rescue efforts, risking their own lives."

10. Yang talking to media

11. Various of body being carried off boat and into ambulances

12. Various of boat coming into port

Divers continued the search for those missing in South Korea's ferry disaster with several underwater routes now guiding them to the wreck, speeding up an operation that has turned from rescue to recovery.

Nearly a week after the sinking of the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol off Jindo Island, the number of dead reached 113 on Tuesday, officials said, with about 190 people still missing.

The victims were overwhelmingly students from a single high school in Ansan, near Seoul.

More than three-quarters of the 323 students are dead or missing, while nearly two-thirds of the other 153 people on board the ferry Sewol survived.

The number of corpses recovered has risen sharply since the weekend, when divers battling strong currents and low visibility were finally able to enter the submerged vessel.

The South Korean Navy's 4,600-ton ship Cheonghaejin, equipped with recompression chambers and specialist marine rescue equipment, was assisting the rescue operation on Tuesday, deploying divers to the site of the sunken ferry even as night fell.

An emergency task force spokesman said bodies have mostly been found on the third and fourth floors of the ferry, where many passengers seemed to have gathered.

Many students were housed in cabins on the fourth floor, near the stern of the ship, officials said.

The ship's captain, Jang Jin-hong, vowed to recover every last one of the missing passengers.

Cranes are now in place at the ship wreck site to assist in the rescue operation.

Twenty-two of the 29 members of the ferry's crew survived, and nine of them have been arrested or detained in connection with the investigation into what caused the ferry to capsize.

AP TELEVISION

1. Site of sunken ferry, Korean coastguard vessels and search and rescue boats nearby

2. Closer shot of site

3. Wide of crane at wreck site

4. Tilt-down of crane

5. Rescue crew on speedboat

6. South Korean Navy ship, Cheonghaejin

7. Various of military rescue divers preparing to dive

8. Divers climbing down onto speedboat

9. Speedboat sets off with divers

10. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Park Ju-hm, Rescue Diver:

"Today's condition of the waters is that the current was weaker than usual. Visibility was better by fifty to sixty centimetres as well. From now on, we will do our best to save the last missing passenger."

11. Various of rescue teams at wreck site

12. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Jang Jin-hong, Navy Captain overseeing rescue operation:

"Even though there are strong currents, unexpected changes in currents and visibility, we will overcome these difficulties to save all passengers without leaving any missing."

13. Operations room of navy ship

14. Close-up of the monitor showing divers' recovery chamber

15. Various of divers in recovery chamber

++NIGHT SHOTS++

16. Speedboats carrying divers

17. Crane at site of sunken ferry

18. Buoys above site of sunken ferry

19. Close-up of the buoys showing the ship wreck site

20. Divers on speedboats

21. Crane at site

22. Wide of site of sunken ferry

Divers continued to fight strong currents in their search for 97 passengers still believed missing on board South Korean sunken ferry Sewol on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the accident.

Coping with the harsh conditions, one diver said on Tuesday that all he focuses on is getting the bodies of victims back to their families.

More than 200 have died as a result of the disaster, the coast guard confirmed on Tuesday.

AP TELEVISION

1. Orange police search boat at site of sunken ferry

2. Inflatable markers where the Sewol sank

3. Police and special forces search boats on site

4. Various of rescue personnel on search boat

5. Divers sitting on deck of boat

6. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Corporal Yang Chul-joong, police diver:

"I don't think of anything but the fact that I can bring the victims back to their families. We are working hard. I don't think we have the time to think anything else."

7. Various of rescue personnel sitting on deck of on boat

8. Orange police boat on water

9. Black Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) search boat sailing past

10. Special forces in black dinghy

11. Various search boats on site

A crew member called the captain of the tragic South Korean ferry a "warm person with good morals" on Saturday, one day after Captain Lee Joon-seok was arrested for his role in the ferry disaster.

Local media reported that the captain, as well as other crew members, fled as the ferry started to sink.

But helmsmen Oh Young-suk, who is being treated for his injuries at Mokpo Hankuk hospital, described how he, along with four other crew members, did their best to rescue people from the ferry.

"The media should have reported it correctly," he said.

Mokpo Hankuk Hospital has taken care of the largest number of passengers from the rescue operation.

At a news briefing on Saturday, the hospital's director Ryu Jae-kwang, said that many of the patients being treated were also suffering from psychological shock.

Meanwhile, giant screens showed the ongoing rescue operation at a makeshift rescue centre at a gymnasium in Jindo as relatives continued to wait for any news of the missing.

Saturday also saw new information come to the fore with a prosecutor saying that the third mate steering the ferry at the time of the accident was navigating those waters for the first time.

AP TELEVISION

Mokpo, South Korea

1. Close of hospital door, with Oh Young-suk, helmsman of the sunk ferry looking out

2. Oh leaving his room and walking down corridor

3. Tilt up of Oh

4. Nurse changing the needle in Oh's hand

5. Mid of nurse changing the needle in Oh's hand

6. Close of Oh's room number

7. Oh entering his room, shutting door

8. Tilt of Oh sitting on his hospital bed

9. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Oh Young-suk, helmsman of the sunk ferry:

"We, five crew members who were left at the scene, were trying our best to rescue people while sliding down with no energy left, and bleeding too. The media should have reported it correctly."

10. Close saline solution

11. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Oh Young-suk, helmsman of the sunk ferry:

"I think that the captain was badly injured in the incident, but I watched the TV and saw him walking out. He received a blanket and was taken into emergency care. That's as much as I know."

12. Close of Oh's hand

13. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Oh Young-suk, helmsman of the sunk ferry:

"To me, he has been a very warm person with good morals."

14. Reporters at Mokpo Hankuk Hospital news briefing

15. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Ryu Jae-kwang, Director of Mokpo Hankuk Hospital:

"Some patients (suffering from post-traumatic syndrome) are extremely depressed, and cannot sleep at night. They are anxious all the time."

16. List of patients taken to hospital

17. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Ryu Jae-kwang, Director of Mokpo Hankuk Hospital:

"It's recommended that the people around them do not remind the patients of the accident situation."

18. Hospital director and doctors leaving news briefing

Jindo, South Korea

19. Families of missing people waiting at makeshift rescue shelter

20. Close of screen showing rescue operation

21. Relatives of missing people waiting for more news

22. Wide of families and relatives of missing people at rescue shelter

The official death toll from the sunken South Korean ferry now stands at 104 after more ships carrying bodies recovered from the vessel arrived at Paengmok Port on Tuesday.

Nearly 200 people are still missing, many of them students from a single high school, in Ansan near Seoul, who were on their way to the southern tourist island of Jeju.

The bodies arriving at Paengmok Port on Jindo Island are driven in ambulances to two tents: one for men and boys, the other for women and girls.

If a body lacks identification, details such as height, hair length and clothing are posted on a white signboard for families waiting on Jindo island for news.

Ko Myung-suk, Director General of the Equipment & Technology Bureau at Korea Coast Guard, said rescue teams were trying to break into the ship's dining hall as part of the next phase of the search operation.

Parents of passengers on board the ship on Tuesday issued a letter of appeal to the government, urging it to speed up the rescue process.

Many families of the missing are staying in a makeshift shelter set up at a gymnasium on Jindo Island.

The cause of the disaster is not yet known, but prosecutors have said the ship made a sharp turn before it began to list.

AP TELEVISION

Paengmok Port, Jindo Island, South Korea

1. Various of coast guard boat arriving at Paengmok Port with bodies on board

2. Close of body on board boat

3. Boat docking at port

4. Coastguard personnel carrying body off vessel

5. Coastguard personnel standing outside identification area

6. Various of ambulances at port and bodies being taken away

7. Lists describing details of the dead bodies recovered

8. Various of relatives reading the lists

Ansan, South Korea

9. Representatives of parents in front of Ansan Education Office

10. Sign outside building that reads (Korean): "We express our condolences to the victims of the Sewol. Please proceed with a quick rescue of the missing passengers".

11. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Jang Dong-won, Father of Rescued Student:

"To the government, please expedite the rescue operation using all the resources you have. Please understand the anguished hearts of the parents who want to go into the water (to search for) the trapped children themselves. All the citizens (of South Korea) are condemning the late response of the government. A detailed investigation (into the sinking) needs to be made later."

12. Journalists

13. Parents listening to Jang

14. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Jang Dong-won, Father of Rescued Student:

"To the media, please report the truth rather than "issues." The parents in Jindo are angry that the media (reports) and reality are very different. And please stop the competitive reporting over the surviving children. The children say that when they look at the window, a sudden fear of water (filling in) seizes them. What the children need is utmost stability."

15. Various of parents of students who were rescued

Jindo, South Korea

16. Ko Myung-suk, director general of Equipment & Technology Bureau at Korea Coast, arriving at news conference

17. Wide of journalists at news conference

18. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Ko Myung-suk, Director General of Equipment & Technology Bureau at Korea Coast Guard:

"There is a wall between the lounge and the dining hall, and it is quite difficult for us to break it down."

19. Mid of press conference

20. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Ko Myung-suk, Director General of Equipment & Technology Bureau at Korea Coast Guard:

"As we reported before, we found a lot of passengers in the lounge. Our next objective is to get into the dining hall, which we still haven't yet succeeded. But, we are almost there."

21. Park Seung-gee, South Korean Oceans and Fisheries Ministry spokesperson arriving at news conference

22. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Park Seung-gee, South Korean Oceans and Fisheries Ministry Spokesperson:

"To reduce the inconvenience of victims' families staying at the gym, we are going to discuss with them (the issue) of installing walls (between them)."

23. Wide of families of missing passengers at Jindo gymnasium

24. Various of family members at gymnasium

25. Mid of family members watching the electronic board with information of missing people

26. Electronic board indicating the 93rd body found with the description of the person (including height, sex, description of clothes)

The U.S. Navy released video showing a Navy Sea Hawk helicopter landing aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard after completing a search and rescue mission in the vicinity of the sunken ferry off the coast of the Republic of Korea.

The USS Bonhomme Richard was in the region when the disaster happened and was brought in to help search for survivors near the sunken ferry Sewol.

The Bonhomme Richard is deployed to Japan as part of the US 7th fleet and was homeported in San Diego.

DVIDS, US NAVY

East China Sea - April 17, 2014

1. Wide shot of US Navy Sea Hawk helicopter lands on deck of USS Bonhomme Richard after assisting in search and rescue mission off coast of island of Jindo

DVIDS, US NAVY

File video of crew onboard USS Bonhomme Richard

Unknown location and date

2. Medium of crew member on deck with binoculars

3. Various of inside shots of the bridge and crew members

4. Outside on deck aircraft directors signal helicopter

5. Medium of crew inside helicopter

6. Medium of sailor moving the wheel blocks and chains, readying helicopter for takeoff

7. Wide of helicopter taking off from flight deck

Tagalog/Eng/Nat

Dozens of people were still missing in the Philippines on Friday as the Coast Guard, the military and volunteers resumed their search for survivors of a ferry that sank the day before off the central island of Cebu.

Authorities said at least 591 people have been rescued from the M-V Asia South Korea, which sank early Thursday near Bantayan Island off the northern tip of Cebu Island, about 480 kilometers (300 miles) southeast of Manila.

At least nine people are known to have died in the accident.

The bodies of those who perished in the disaster were recovered near the area where the M-V Asia South Korea sank early on Thursday morning.

Dozens remain missing as the coast guard and military volunteers continued their search on Friday.

At least 590 people have been rescued from the sinking craft and the surrounding waters.

They were transferred to a private maritime training vessel to spend the night as the sea was too rough to allow small boats to bring them to shore.

On board the ship, anxious relatives await news from loved ones aboard the ill-fated ferry.

This mother could not contain her happiness when her child was pulled from the wreck, alive and well.

Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, owner of the 2-thousand-840-ton Japanese-built ferry said there had been 606 passengers and 52 crew members aboard the craft when it began sinking before dawn Thursday, near Bantayan Island off the northern tip of Cebu.

Many were returning home for the Christmas holidays.

UPSOUND: (English)

"It's so sad, so sad."

SUPER CAPTION: female survivor

Passengers spoke of the scramble to save their lives when they realised the ship was sinking.

SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog)

"The lights went off and water slowly came in to the ship, then the water level went up. That's when the ship started to sink, so we all scrambled for life jackets so we would float and won't drown.

SUPER CAPTION: Crispin Libon, survivor

Rough seas hampered Thursday's search and rescue operations, but the weather had improved early on Friday.

At least eight injured passengers were transferred from rescue ships and flown by air force helicopters to hospitals for treatment.

Ferries are the main form of transportation among the Philippines' more than 7-thousand islands, but overcrowding and accidents are common.

In the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster, the Dona Paz ferry collided with a tanker on December 20, 1987, killing 4-thousand-341.

XFA Bantayan Island, Cebu Province, Central Philippines - 23 and 24 December 1999

Night shots - 23 December

1. Body of woman being unloaded onto rescue ship

2. Cutaways, survivors watching

3. Two bodies laid on the floor

4. Body of dead child being carried and laid on the floor

5. Ship with survivors at sea

6. Mother reunited with child, crying after seeing that her baby is alive

7. Injured survivor

8. Various of survivors on board ship

9. UPSOUND: (English) Female survivor

10. SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog) Crispin Libon

Day shots - 24 December

11. Various of injured being loaded onto rescue helicopters

12 . Injured survivor being brought down from helicopter