No progress was made in an underwater search for those still missing in April's deadly ferry sinking for the 12th straight day on Friday, officials said.

Navy, Coast Guard and civilian divers took shifts to search the submerged hull to find 12 people, including six high school students, still unaccounted for more than two months after the boat sank off the country's southwestern coast, according to officials of the government crisis center.

The officials said the divers combed the front of the third and fifth decks along with the lobby on the fourth floor where the missing are presumed to be but failed to find anyone.

Not a single body has been recovered since June 8 when one was found. The latest discovery brought the total number of confirmed dead to 292.

The 6,825-ton ferry Sewol sank in waters off Jindo en route to the southern resort island of Jeju from the country's western port city of Incheon. Of the 476 people on board, 172 were saved, with the rest confirmed dead or still missing. (Yonhap)