11 human bones found in Sewol

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11 human bones found in Sewol

Eleven human bones were found on the third floor of the Sewol ferry on Tuesday, as part of the ongoing effort to find the remains of the nine unrecovered victims.

The bones were discovered on the starboard side, in the same area where the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries had uncovered 24 bones on Monday and three bones on Sunday, bringing the total number of bones suspected to be human found in the same area to 38.

“It’s too early to tell if all bones found in the area belong to one person,” said Lee Cheol-jo, an Oceans Ministry official overseeing the investigation into the ferry. “We will need to confirm through a DNA test.”

The Sewol ferry sank southwest of Jindo, an island in South Jeolla, on April 16, 2014. It was carrying 476 people, 304 of whom died, mostly high school students on a field trip.

The complete remains of nine missing victims have yet to be found.

The nine victims are Danwon High School’s students Nam Hyun-chul, Park Young-in, Cho Eun-hwa and Huh Da-yoon, as well as teachers Ko Chang-suk and Yang Seung-jin, and ordinary citizens Lee Young-sook, Kwon Jae-geun and his son, Kwon Hyuk-kyoo.

Remains suspected to belong to Cho were found on the ferry’s fourth floor on Saturday. Her relatives have identified them as hers by reviewing parts of discovered teeth.

The ministry is continuing to investigate the third and fourth floors of the ferry. The cabins located on the fourth floor were widely used by Danwon High School students.

Survivors have recounted last seeing the two teachers with male students on the fourth floor. Park’s uniform was found on the fourth floor last month.

Remains of ordinary citizens Lee, Kwon and his son are suspected to be located on the third floor of the ferry, where cabins of ordinary citizens were mostly located.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
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