<p>Divers today retrieved the first bodies from the submerged South Korean ferry that capsized nearly four days ago, marking a grim new stage in the search and recovery process.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Divers broke through the window of a passenger cabin just before midnight and pulled out three bodies," a coastguard official said.<br /><br />All three were wearing lifejackets, the official said, adding that two were male while the gender of the third was not immediately confirmed.<br /><br />They were the same three bodies that had been spotted, but not retrieved, during an earlier dive.<br /><br />The confirmed death toll from the disaster now stands at 36 with 266 people still unaccounted for.<br /><br />More than 350 of those on board the 6,825-tonne Sewol when it capsized and sank on Wednesday morning were students from the same high school in Ansan city just south of Seoul.<br /><br />The age of the victims pulled from the ferry today night was not immediately known.<br /><br />Their recovery followed days of fruitless efforts by more than 500 divers to access the submerged ship in the face of powerful currents and near-zero visibility.<br /><br />Relatives of the missing gathered in the southern island of Jindo -- not far from the disaster site -- have been clinging to the slimmest of hopes that some may have survived in trapped air pockets.<br /><br />Today, investigators arrested the ferry's captain, Lee Joon-Seok and two of his crew.<br /><br />All three have been criticised for abandoning hundreds of passengers still trapped in the ferry, as they made their own escape.<br /><br />Lee was charged with negligence and failing to secure the safety of passengers in violation of maritime law.<br /><br />All three were paraded before TV cameras at their arraignment, dressed in dark raincoats with their hoods pulled up and their heads bowed.</p>
<p>Divers today retrieved the first bodies from the submerged South Korean ferry that capsized nearly four days ago, marking a grim new stage in the search and recovery process.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Divers broke through the window of a passenger cabin just before midnight and pulled out three bodies," a coastguard official said.<br /><br />All three were wearing lifejackets, the official said, adding that two were male while the gender of the third was not immediately confirmed.<br /><br />They were the same three bodies that had been spotted, but not retrieved, during an earlier dive.<br /><br />The confirmed death toll from the disaster now stands at 36 with 266 people still unaccounted for.<br /><br />More than 350 of those on board the 6,825-tonne Sewol when it capsized and sank on Wednesday morning were students from the same high school in Ansan city just south of Seoul.<br /><br />The age of the victims pulled from the ferry today night was not immediately known.<br /><br />Their recovery followed days of fruitless efforts by more than 500 divers to access the submerged ship in the face of powerful currents and near-zero visibility.<br /><br />Relatives of the missing gathered in the southern island of Jindo -- not far from the disaster site -- have been clinging to the slimmest of hopes that some may have survived in trapped air pockets.<br /><br />Today, investigators arrested the ferry's captain, Lee Joon-Seok and two of his crew.<br /><br />All three have been criticised for abandoning hundreds of passengers still trapped in the ferry, as they made their own escape.<br /><br />Lee was charged with negligence and failing to secure the safety of passengers in violation of maritime law.<br /><br />All three were paraded before TV cameras at their arraignment, dressed in dark raincoats with their hoods pulled up and their heads bowed.</p>