By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
As efforts continued Saturday to try and find 270 passengers still missing after a ferry capsized in waters off South Korea’s southwestern coast, a joint investigation has honed in on the Sewol’s captain and crew.
Another three bodies were recovered Saturday, three days after the ferry sank, bringing the death toll to at least 32. On board were 476 people, most of them high school students.
Captain Lee Joon-seok, 68, lowered his head and apologized in front of reporters Saturday
"I am sorry to the people of South Korea for causing a disturbance and I bow my head in apology to the families of the victims," he said. "I gave instructions regarding the route, then I briefly went to the bedroom and then [the sinking] happened" he said.
Lee was arrested Friday on multiple charges, including negligence of duty and violation of maritime law. Police and prosecutors are trying to determine why an evacuation order was given 30 minutes after the point recommended by maritime safety officials, following the ferry’s initial distress signal at 08:55 local time Wednesday.
Lee said Saturday that he had first told people to remain seated because “it was before any rescue vessels had arrived, and the water was cold.”
He has come under public criticism for abandoning the vessel before hundreds of passengers had a chance to leave.
Investigators are also looking into the circumstances of how the ferry came to veer off course after possibly colliding with an unknown object, and the role that change of direction may have played in causing the vessel to destabilize.
The helmsman who was steering at the time, Cho Joon-ki, was among two other crew members arrested Friday. Cho told reporters that the steering gear had “turned exceptionally faster than normal.”
As relatives of the missing await news of loved ones, the South Korean coastguard confirmed Saturday that three more bodies had been spotted by a civilian diver while searching the fourth floor of the ferry.
In a bid to overcome the currents and poor visibility, cranes have arrived at the site with a view to moving the 6,825 ton-vessel, which had been en route to the resort island of Jeju from Incheon in the northwest of the country when it ran into trouble.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
