SEOUL, Dec. 3 -- Death toll has risen to 12 in a South Korean fishing ship sinking accident in the Bering Sea as 11 more bodies were recovered in waters near the site, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

A total of eleven bodies were recovered in waters near the sunken South Korean vessel Oryong 501, lifting the death toll to 12, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The eleven bodies included three South Koreans, one Filipino and seven Indonesians.

The 1,753-ton fishing ship, which was catching pollack, sank in the western part of the Bering Sea near Russia on Monday when one person was confirmed dead and seven were rescued.

The crew on board the ship included 11 South Koreans, 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos and one Russian inspector. As of Wednesday, 12 people have been confirmed dead, with 41 still unaccounted for.

The death toll is expected to increase further as the waters are famous for freezing sea water and bad weather conditions, which are hampering rescue operations. The wind was blowing at a speed of about 18 m/s near the site, and the wave is up as high as 4 meters.

Three South Korean ships of Sajo Industries, owner of the Oryong 501, and one Russian ship conducted search operations overnight. Five U.S. Coast Guard ships and flying boats joined the operation from Wednesday.

The 36-year-old vessel has been believed to begin listing after bad weather caused sea water to flood the storage parts of it.The Ministry of People's Safety, the country's control tower of disasters, launched an investigation into the maritime accident.

The ship left the country's southern port city of Busan on July 10 for the Bering Sea to catch pollack.

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