ABOVE: The death toll in South Korea’s ferry disaster is at 181, with over 100 still missing. President Obama is in Seoul Friday as the country mourns the tragic loss.
LATEST UPDATES:
- Reports say ship was overloaded
- President Barack Obama offered South Koreans his condolences Friday for the ferry disaster
- The ferry sank April 16 on its way from Incheon port to the southern tourist island of Jeju.
- More than 80 per cent of the 302 dead and missing are students from a single high school in Ansan, south of Seoul
TORONTO – South Korea admitted Friday that some bodies from a ferry disaster were misidentified and sent home to the wrong families, an error that was only caught after many of the remains were brought to a funeral home.
The government announced an “action plan” and acknowledged that “there have been cases where the victims were wrongly transferred.”
READ MORE: Families confront officials, reports say ship was overloaded
An emergency task force has been set up to ensure that remains will now only be transferred to families when there is a match using DNA testing or fingerprint or dental records.
“The transfer will be temporary when a body is matched though identification or physical description, and authorities will wait for more authoritative evidence before making the transfer permanent,” said authorities.
WATCH: Irate family members of Korean ferry disaster victims demand answers (April 24)
The ferry sank April 16 on its way from Incheon port to the southern tourist island of Jeju. Divers have recovered 183 bodies so far and may have nearly 120 left to find in the dark rooms of the submerged vessel.
Eleven crew members, including the captain, have been arrested on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need.
Relatives detain fisheries minister and coast guard
Frustrated relatives allowed South Korean officials to leave a tent at a port on the island of Jindo where they had been held overnight.
The relatives staged a marathon confrontation with the officials on Thursday night, surrounding them in a standoff that lasted into Friday morning.
The families have been waiting for more than a week on the island for word of their loved ones.
READ MORE: Divers break down cabin walls to retrieve bodies
On Friday morning, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Lee Ju-young, was seen still sitting on the floor of the tent where he had spent the night despite being allowed to leave.
The tent is where officials post information about the newly recovered dead.
Lee, coast guard chief Kim Seok-kyun and deputy chief Choi Sang-hwan were crowded by dozens on Thursday as the officials sat on the ground and tried to explain the search efforts.
President Barack Obama is visiting South Korea and offered his condolences.
“So many were young students with their entire lives ahead of them,” he said, invoking his two daughters, both close in age to many of the ferry victims. “I can only imagine what the parents are going through at this point – the incredible heartache.”
– with files from The Associated Press
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