Russian authorities said Saturday that 322 bodies had been recovered, confirming another dramatic increase in the number reported killed in Friday's bloody ending of the Beslan school siege. The bodies of 155 children were among those already recovered, said Deputy Prosecutor-General Sergei Fridinski. Numerous explosive devices set by the hostage-takers in the school building in the town of Beslan in the republic of North Ossetia had to be defused before the recovery of the victims could begin. The grim task of recovering bodies continued to be frequently interrupted for the removal of debris so further explosive devices could be defused. Scores of despairing relatives waited outside the headquarters of the emergency services Saturday for information on the fate of missing children. Most of the hostages killed Friday died as a result of terrorist bombs and falling debris, police in North Ossetia said. Explosive devices packed with bolts and nails were detonated among around 1,000 hostages packed into the school sports hall, causing the roof to collapse. --more 1449 Local Time 1149 GMT
