SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – A third set of human remains found following the recovery of South Korea’s sunken Sewol ferry has been identified as one of the missing victims, officials said Thursday.
Cho Eun-Hwa, a 17-year-old girl from Danwon High School, was named by the maritime ministry in a statement.
The wreck was salvaged in March and towed to the port of Mokpo last month so authorities could find the remains of nine unaccounted for passengers.
Another set of bones found inside the wreck were previously confirmed to be a female student from the same school, while a bone fragment found on the sea bed near the wreck site was identified as teacher Ko Chang-Seok.
The 6,800-ton ship sank off the country’s southwestern coast in one of its worst maritime accidents, claiming more than 300 lives, mostly Danwon High School students on an excursion.
The six others still unaccounted for include another teacher, two boy students from school, and three other passengers.
The Sewol sinking and botched rescue efforts dealt a crushing blow to now-ousted president Park Geun-Hye.
Investigations concluded the disaster was the result of numerous human factors, including an illegal redesign, an overloaded cargo bay and inexperienced crew.
© Agence France-Presse