The first body to be found in three months is being recovered from a sunken South Korean ferry, increasing the official death toll to 295.

The government task force said in a statement that the badly decayed body was found around a women's toilet in the ship. It was being pulled up to the surface and DNA tests were planned to identify the victim.

The Sewol ferry sank in April. The body is the first to be recovered since July 18.

Nine people are still missing.

Family members of the missing victims this week rejected a proposal to hoist the vessel. They fear the remaining bodies would be swept away or damaged.

Most of the ferry victims were teenage students who were on a school trip to a resort island.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.