Underwater operations to find 16 people still missing in the deadly ferry disaster were to resume on Wednesday amid improved weather conditions, the state response team said.

Heavy rains, coupled with strong winds and waves, have effectively prevented operations since Sunday to find those still unaccounted for after the ferry Sewol sank off the country's southwestern coast on April 16.

"We expect to resume the underwater operations later in the day, as the high seas watch was lifted," an official of the response team said. "Barges and rescue ships that evacuated due to bad weather have already returned to the scene."

"Some 123 divers are ready to comb inside the sunken ferry.

Along with search operations, they will also cut open the hull to gain access to the unsearched compartments filled with debris," the official added.

To boost the effectiveness of the search operations, the government is also planning to deploy a remotely operated vehicle underwater, according to the state team.

The government said it will come up with ways to financially assist fishermen hit by the disaster.

"To handle the compensation request by the residents here, the government will find a way to raise money to compensate them in advance (of the completion of a damage assessment)," the state team official said, vowing to devise measures against the oil spill from the sunken ferry that also has affected fishing near Jindo. (Yonhap)