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Body of Russian Teenager Found on Sunken South Korean Ferry, Report Says

Rescue workers carrying the body of a passenger of the Sewol passenger ship that capsized in the sea off Jindo. Kim Hong-Ji for Reuters

The body of a Russian teenager was found during the search for victims on a sunken South Korean ferry, a news report said Monday.

The Russian victim, born in 1997, was one of four foreigners on the Sewol, which sunk last week and left hundreds missing, RIA Novosti reported, citing the Renkhal news agency.

Of 476 passengers on the ferry, 87 have died and 215 are still unaccounted for, the report said.

A large number of passengers on the Sewol, which capsized as it sailed from Incheon in the north-west to the southern island of Jeju, were high school students on a field trip.

The ship's captain, Lee Joon-seok, and two crew members were arrested over the weekend and have been charged with negligence.

South Korea's president, Park Geun-hye, said Monday that Lee and some members of his crew had committed "unforgivable, murderous acts" for delaying the order to evacuate the ferry.

A transcript of the ship's voyage shows that the captain and crew "were hamstrung by indecision and communication problems at the critical moment when deciding whether to evacuate passengers," The Guardian reported.

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