S Korea ferry captain arrested, divers 'glimpse' bodies

April 19, 2014 09:42

Investigators have arrested the captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized three days ago with 476 people on board, as divers finally accessed the submerged vessel and spotted what they believed to be bodies.

Coastguard officials said captain Lee Joon-Seok and two of his crew were taken into police custody in the early hours of the morning.

The Yonhap news agency said Lee faced five charges, ranging from criminal negligence to violation of maritime law.

Lee, 69, has been severely criticised for abandoning his ship as it sank Wednesday morning off the southwest coast while hundreds remained trapped on board, most of them children on a high school holiday trip.

Twenty-nine people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, but 273 are still missing.

The coastguard revised the figures slightly overnight, citing counting errors.

As the arrests were being made, dive teams who had spent two days vainly battling powerful currents and near zero visibility, finally penetrated the lower decks of the 6,825-tonne Sewol.

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