Death toll reaches 27 in sunken South Korean fishing ship

The death toll from a sunken South Korean fishing vessel has risen to 27 after seven more bodies were recovered, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The bodies including three Indonesians and one Filipino were recovered in waters near the Oryong 501 vessel which sank in the western part of the Bering Sea near Russia on Monday, Xinhua news agency reports.

As of Friday, 27 people have been confirmed dead and they consisted of six South Koreans, 12 Indonesians, four Filipinos and five unidentified south east Asian nationals.

Crew members on board the 1,753-tonne vessel included 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and one Russian inspector.

Authorities said the death toll is expected to increase.

The ship left South Korean southern port city of Busan on July 10 for the Bering Sea.