ARIRANG NEWS 20:00 Ferry Disaster: Live from Paengmok-hang Harbor where search operation continues

And in waters off Korea's southwestern coast... search-and-rescue operations are well into the ninth day, but not a single survivor has been found since the ferry capsized last Wednesday morning. For the latest, we now go live to our Song Ji-sun , at Paengmok-hang Harbor - just 20 kilometers from the accident site. Ji-sun. More than a week has passed since the Sewol-ho ferry sank... and TODAY was the most critical day in terms of the search-and-rescue operation, as the currents in the area are forecast to get stronger. A dozen more bodies were recovered on Thursday -- and the death toll hasn't changed since 2 p.m. after hitting 1-hundred-71... with 1-hundred-31 still missing. Among the bodies recovered today was that of a male student who made the first emergency call... to report that the ship was sinking. The student, surnamed Choi, is considered to have saved those that survived the accident... all 1-hundred-74 of them. The divers focused their search on the third floor where the cafeteria is... but did not recover as many victims as they hoped for. The search also focused on the fourth level of the ship, where the cabins of most Danwon High School students were located. Divers also said there were no air pockets present inside the sunken ferry... thinning the chance of possible survivors after the ship sank completely underwater. You also told us earlier that there was a row between families of the missing and the authorities there. Can you tell us more? It's been ongoing for hours now. Exhausted and angry parents of the Danwon High School students are showing very, very strong distrust of the ongoing search-and-rescue operation. They are now speaking with the oceans minister who arrived at the site... questioning whether there was enough search operation today. The parents want more diving distance lines are installed to the fourth deck of the sunken ferry where the most students are expected to be... and that more private divers are brought into the operation. Families of the missing are convinced that the authorities did not go forward with the rescue operation as they told them so... and it is pretty certain, at this point, that private divers who volunteered to participte in the rescue operation -- have pulled out after conflicting with the navy and marine divers... but parents want them back as they think there are not enough divers out there to go underwater and search for -- what the parents now say -- are the bodies of their children. This was Song Ji-sun reporting live from Paengmok-hang Harbor in Jindo. Title: Prospects for salvaging the vessel With prospects dimming on finding any survivors on the sunken ferry... people have begun to ask the question ... how will the almost 7-thousand-ton ship be recovered? Some experts say... if working conditions are favorable ... it may only take one to two months. We look at some of the possibilities in what is likely to become a lengthy procedure of recovery. Lee Ji-yeon reports. With a request from families of the missing passengers of the Sewol-ho ferry to conclude search efforts by Thursday, discussion on how to salvage the wreckage will gain more momentum. The large ferry weighs over 6-thousand tons on its own, but with the added weight ... it's expected to exceed 10-thousand tons. Salvaging the 79-hundred-ton ferry Ariake, which capsized off the coast of Japan in 2009, was a challenging operation because of the cargo that had shifted to one side ... a similar situation with the Sewol-ho ferry. It took over a year to salvage the ship with cranes, after cutting it into four pieces. Then how about the operations for the Sewol-ho ferry? Currently, there are five cranes on standby near the accident site, including an 8-thousand-ton crane, the largest in the country. Floating docks are set to be brought in as well. But the salvage process is likely to face a rough start, because the ferry now lies upside down. Salvaging the ship as is ... may cause damage to the upper levels of the vessel. The safest and the most realistic method being considered is to use both cranes and floating docks at the same time. First, chains would go around the vessel ... then lift bags filled with air would be installed to slowly put the ship on its right side up, while pulling it closer to the surface. Then the floating docks can be taken underwater to support the vessel from below and push it up.