Victim of South Korea 2014 ferry disaster identified

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) - Authorities have identified the remains of a 16-year-old girl who was one of the nine people missing from the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster that left hundreds, mostly schoolchildren dead, according to a South Korean news agency.

The Ocean Ministry’s search team said the remains were of Cho Eun-hwa, a young student whose photograph had been regularly displayed in Seoul as a reminder of those unaccounted for.

The team said the victim had been identified by parts of her teeth, Yonhap news agency reported.

Cho’s remains were among other suspected human bones recovered in recent days from the wreckage of the Sewol, which was salvaged in March before being pulled to a dry dock last month around the third anniversary of the disaster.

The National Forensic Service could take several more weeks to finish DNA analysis of other fragments, Yonhap added.

Most victims were high-school children bound for a domestic trip to Jeju Island. The latest identification of the remains increases the death toll from the maritime tragedy to 296, while eight other people remain missing.

There was also confusion in recent weeks when animal remains were mistakenly reported as human.

But the public’s anger has been mostly reserved for ex-President Park Geun-hye’s government because of a botched rescue operation and revelations of corruption that may have compromised the safety of Sewol.