- NEW: Coast guard: The death toll rises to 219, with 83 missing
- About 70 survivors from the ferry visit Danwon High School in Ansan
- The school sent 325 students on a field trip; scores have died at sea
- South Korea's president apologizes for the initial response to the ferry sinking
Ansan, South Korea (CNN) -- They left school two weeks ago on a field trip with hundreds of classmates.
They came back Wednesday without the scores of students who died at sea.
About 70 survivors from the sunken South Korean ferry visited a memorial at the Danwon High School in Asnan -- the high school that sent 325 students on a field trip to Jeju Island.
Inside the hallways, it didn't take long for the tears to flow. Many students sobbed as they walked past images of their classmates and hurried back onto waiting buses.
For these students, school will never be the same.
A girl in Seoul, South Korea, holds a candle during a service paying tribute to the victims of the sunken ferry Sewol on Wednesday, April 30. More than 200 bodies have been found and nearly 100 people remain missing after the ferry sank April 16 off South Korea's southwest coast. People pay tribute to victims at a memorial altar in Ansan, South Korea, on Tuesday, April 29. A police officer holds an umbrella for a relative of a missing ferry passenger Monday, April 28, in Jindo, South Korea. South Korean Buddhists carry lanterns in a parade in Seoul on Saturday, April 26, to honor the memory of the dead and the safe return of the missing. Divers search for people in the waters near Jindo on April 26. People in Ansan attend a memorial for the victims on April 26. A diver jumps into the sea near the sunken ferry on Friday, April 25. A relative of a passenger weeps while waiting for news of his missing loved one at a port in Jindo on April 25. People attend a memorial for the victims at the Olympic Memorial Hall in Ansan on Thursday, April 24. Yellow ribbons honoring the victims flap in the wind as a hearse carrying a victim's body leaves Danwon High School in Ansan on April 24. Most of the people on board the ferry were high school students on their way to the resort island of Jeju. People attend a memorial for the victims at Olympic Memorial Hall in Ansan. Search personnel dive into the sea on Wednesday, April 23. Flares light up the search area on Tuesday, April 22. The sun sets over the site of the sunken ferry on April 22. A relative of a ferry passenger prays as she waits for news in Jindo on April 22. The search for victims continues April 22 in the waters of the Yellow Sea. Rescue workers in Jindo carry the body of a passenger on Monday, April 21. Divers jump into the water on April 21 to search for passengers near the buoys that mark the site of the sunken ferry. A relative of a passenger looks at the lists of the dead on April 21. Search operations continue as flares illuminate the scene near Jindo on Sunday, April 20. Relatives of missing passengers grieve April 20 in Jindo. Relatives of passengers look out at the sea from Jindo on April 20. A relative of a missing passenger struggles with a policeman as he tries to march toward the presidential house in Jindo on April 20 to protest the government's rescue operation. Police officers in Jindo stand guard Saturday, April 19, to prevent relatives of the ferry's missing passengers from jumping in the water. Some relatives said they will swim to the shipwreck site and find their missing family members by themselves. Family members of missing passengers hug as they await news of their missing relatives at Jindo Gymnasium on April 19. South Korean Navy Ship Salvage Unit members prepare to salvage the sunken ferry and search for missing people on April 19. Oil from the sunken ferry appears near the wreckage site on April 19. Lee Joon Suk, the captain of the Sewol, is escorted to the court that issued his arrest warrant Friday, April 18, in Mokpo, South Korea. Offshore cranes wait near buoys that mark the location of the sunken ferry on April 18. A U.S. helicopter takes off from the flight deck of the USS Bonhomme Richard during search-and-rescue operations on April 18. A woman cries as she waits for news on missing passengers April 18 in Jindo. A searchlight illuminates the capsized ferry on Thursday, April 17. The ship's captain, Lee Joon Suk, arrives at the Mokpo Police Station in Mokpo on April 17. His head and face covered, he broke down in tears when reporters asked whether he had anything to say. A woman cries during a candlelight vigil at Danwon High School in Ansan, South Korea, on April 17. Rescue personnel dive April 17 during search operations. Family members of passengers aboard the sunken ferry gather at a gymnasium in Jindo on April 17. The body of a victim is moved at a hospital in Mokpo on April 17. Relatives of a passenger cry at a port in Jindo on April 17 as they wait for news on the rescue operation. South Korean coast guard members and rescue teams search for passengers at the site of the sunken ferry on April 17. A relative of a passenger cries as she waits for news on Wednesday, April 16. Rescue teams and fishing boats try to rescue passengers on April 16. Relatives check a list of survivors April 16 in Jindo. Relatives of missing ferry passengers wait for news at a gym in Jindo. Rescue crews attempt to save passengers from the ferry on April 16. A South Korean coast guard helicopter lifts passengers off the vessel on April 16. Police and rescue teams carry a passenger at the port in Jindo on April 16. A relative waits for a missing loved one at the port in Jindo. Parents at Danwon High School search for names of their children among the list of survivors. Ansan is a suburb of Seoul, the South Korean capital. Helicopters hover over the ferry as rescue operations continue April 16. A man in Seoul watches a news broadcast about the sinking vessel. Officials escort rescued passengers April 16 in Jindo. A passenger is helped onto a rescue boat on April 16. A passenger is rescued from the sinking ship on April 16. Photos: South Korean ferry sinks South Korean Prime Minister resigns S. Korean president apologizes over ferry Losing hope
The ferry, en route from Incheon to Jeju, sank April 16 on the country's southwest coast.
Any hope for survivors largely hinged on the possibility of air pockets within the sunken ship, which was carrying 425 people.
Hundreds of relatives camped out near a harbor in Jindo, waiting for news. But after officials said there were no more air pockets, the grim reality set in.
"All we are asking for is bring the dead bodies out," a father wailed Tuesday. "We know they are not alive now."
Videos capturing ferry's final moments fuel fresh outrage
Images of ferry captain abandoning ship are shocking
Lots of blame, no answers
As the web of blame widens, even the country's president is apologizing for the disaster that has killed at least 219 passengers. Another 83 people are missing, the South Korean coast guard reported Thursday.
"I am losing sleep as there is no news about saving more lives and because there are many families who don't know whether their loved ones are dead or alive still," President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday.
"I am at a loss for words for an apology that can be enough to console the pain and suffering even for a little while over insufficiency in efforts made to prevent the accident and also in the initial response to the accident," she added.
First ship on scene saw no evacuation Confusion, anger after ferry disaster "We'll fix the problems and change our practices so we'll have safer nation and won't let them die in vain," Park said.
South Korean authorities arrested have arrested three people on suspicion of destroying evidence connected to the ferry sinking. Investigators also raided a Coast Guard office in a probe of how officials handled the first emergency call from a passenger.
The director and two other people with the Korea Shipping Association's Incheon office were arrested and accused of destroying evidence related to the probe of Chonghaejin, the company that owns the ferry.
The Korea Shipping Association is a trade group that promotes the interests of the country's shipping industry.
The site raided was the Coast Guard building in Mokpo, which includes the South Jeolla province emergency center -- a facility that provides 119 services, akin to the 911 emergency service in the United States.
Investigators are looking into possible dereliction of duty.
Ferry disaster's toll on South Korea's national psyche
Andrew Stevens reported from Ansan; Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Steven Jiang and Stella Kim also contributed to this report.
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