South Korea ferry disaster: Hope exhausted in search for survivors

SEOUL — The official death toll in South Korea’s ferry disaster rose to 33 Saturday and, in a sign that hope had run out for finding survivors, authorities asked relatives of the missing to provide DNA samples to expedite the task of identifying bodies.
Officially, 269 were still listed as missing and the ship remained submerged off the southern coast. Cranes to hoist the vessel upright were brought to the site, but strong currents prevented authorities from deploying them.
Meanwhile, in comments made to reporters during his police arraignment and broadcast on Saturday, the captain explained the decision to tell passengers — including hundreds of high school students — to remain seated after the vessel began taking on water and eventually sank Wednesday.

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-south-korea-ferry-disaster-20140419,0,3000895.story#ixzz2zLIhWuvT