Divers intensively searched the cabins on the third and fourth floors of a sunken South Korean ferry on Tuesday to find more than 198 still missing, one week after South Korea's worst maritime disaster in two decades.

The death toll from the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol rose to 104 early Tuesday as divers retrieved five more bodies as their search focused on decks of the five-story vessel, where most of those unaccounted for are believed to have been trapped.

The operations have transited from rescue to recovery and identification as hopes of finding any survivors were fading rapidly as none of missing passengers have been found alive since the ship sank off the southwestern island of Jindo on Wednesday.

Of the 476 people on board, only 174 passengers, including the ferry's captain and most of its crew, were rescued as the boat listed due to what is believed to have been a faster than usual turn.

While the search had been hampered by bad weather, murky water and strong current, operations are expected to gather steam this week as the weather in the area finally turned favorable.

The government task force team handling the disaster said rescue workers will continue to search around-the-clock as weather conditions have improved, by mobilizing a total of 212 boats, 34 aircraft and 550 rescue workers.

Authorities earlier said they will lift the ship from the sea only with consent from families of the missing, some of whom may feel a tinge of hope for survivors.

Weather in the area was forecast to be mild, with waves expected to reach between 0.5 and 1 meter, and wind blowing at a speed of 5 to 8 meters per second.

On Monday, family representatives staying in a gymnasium in Jindo Island pressured the rescue team to wrap up the search in the next few days while the weather allowed.

Bodies of 3 foreign passengers found in sunken S.Korean ferry

The bodies of two missing Chinese passengers and another foreign citizen aboard a capsized South Korean ferry were recovered by rescuers on Monday.

Two of the victims were identified as Chinese men according to their identification cards while another male victim's nationality remained unknown. The death toll has risen to 104 after the 6,825- ton "Sewol" sank off South Korea's southwest coast Wednesday.

One of the Chinese victim was found in waters where the ferry sank at 19:10 local time, the other was recovered inside the ship at 17:40 local time, according to South Korea's Coast Guard.

Another male foreign victim was found at 18:10 local time inside the ship. The coast guard described him as a foreign student according to his curly hair, clothes and other traits in outer appearance.

The Chinese embassy has confirmed that four Chinese nationals - two men and two women - were among the missing passengers aboard the ill-fated ship. South Korean Coast Guard confirmed that a Russian student was also among the missing ones.

A total of 104 passengers have been officially listed as dead so far, 174 have been rescued and 198 are still missing.

The passengers aboard the ship included 325 students and 15 teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, a Seoul suburb, which, according to the Chinese embassy, is home to many Chinese nationals.