It has not yet been confirmed if the bodies were discovered in waters near the upturned vessel, or retrieved from inside the ship.
The headquarters, which has been coordinating rescue efforts, will hold a press briefing at 10 a.m. local time on overnight search and rescue operations.
If the figure is finally confirmed, the death toll will rise to 46, with those missing to fall to 256. The number of the rescued has been unchanged at 174.
The headquarters said earlier that three bodies were retrieved from the hull of the ship at 11:48 p.m. Saturday, the first recovery nearly four days after the 6,825-ton ferry capsized and sank off Jindo Island, the southwestern tip of South Korea.
The ship Sewol departed the western port city of Incheon Tuesday night for the southern resort island of Jeju. Among the 476 passengers and crew were 325 high school students and 15 teachers on a four-day field trip.
(U.C003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
