A South Korean captain, standing in handcuffs before reporters, defended his order to delay the evacuation of his sinking ferry, CNN affiliate YTN reported early Saturday.
The news of Lee Joon Seok’s arrest in connection with the sinking that left at least 29 people dead and more than 270 missing came as divers made their way to the third deck inside the wreckage where they found three bodies, according to the South Korean coast guard.
The divers weren’t able to recover the three bodies from a compartment, the coast guard said. Another 40 dives are planned for Saturday in an attempt to get inside the ferry, the coast guards’ Koh Myung Seok told reporters.
Lee was charged with abandoning his boat, negligence, causing bodily injury, not seeking rescue from other ships and violating “seamen’s law,” state media reported.
The charges against Lee appear to shed some light on what authorities have focused on in their efforts to find out what happened to the ferry making its way Wednesday from Incheon to the resort island of Jeju. It sank in frigid waters 20 kilometers (roughly 12 miles) off the coast of South Korea’s southern peninsula.
“Mr. Lee is charged with causing the Sewol ship to sink by failing to slow down while sailing the narrow route and making (a) turn excessively,” prosecutor Lee Bong-chang told the semi-official Yonhap news agency.
“Lee is also charged with failing to do the right thing to guide the passengers to escape and thereby leading to their death or injury.”
If convicted, the captain faces from five years to life in prison.
Lee wasn’t at the helm of the Sewol when it started to sink; a third mate was at the helm, a prosecutor said.
So where was the captain?
“It is not clear where he was when the accident occurred, although it is clear that he was not in the steering room before the actual accident happened,” state prosecutor Jae-Eok Park said.
A crew member, described as the third mate and identified only as Park, appeared in handcuffs with Lee.
It was unclear if he was one of two other crew members who authorities have said also faced arrest in connection with the sinking.
A spokesman for the joint prosecutor and police investigators declined to provide further details.
Lee answered questions as he left a court hearing Saturday.
“The tidal current was strong and water temperature was cold, and there was no rescue boat,” he told reporters, according to CNN affiliate YTN. “So I had everyone stand by and wait for the rescue boat to arrive.”
He said he plotted the ship’s course, and then went to his cabin briefly “to tend to something.” It was then, he said, the accident happened.
It was then, he said, the accident happened.
The third mate, who was at the helm of the ship when Lee left, said she did not make a sharp turn, but “the steering turned much more than usual.”
South Korean ferry sinks —
A relative of a victim weeps as she and others stand on the deck of a boat during a visit to the site of the sunken Sewol ferry on April 15, 2015 -- one day before the one year anniversary of the disaster.
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Ed Jones - Pool/Getty Images
South Korean ferry sinks —
A relative hands out flowers to others on the deck of a boat during a visit to the site of the sunken ferry. More than 100 relatives of victims of South Korea's Sewol ferry disaster tearfully cast flowers into the sea.
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ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images
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A man hold a flower as he stands on the deck of a boat during a visit to the site of the sunken Sewol ferry, off the coast of South Korea's southern island of Jindo.
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ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images
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The mother of Sewol ferry disaster victim, Danwon High School student Lim Kyung-Bin, attends a rally to pay tribute to the victims of the ferry disaster on April 11, 2015, Seoul, South Korea.
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Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Image
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Relatives of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster march across a bridge over the Han river in Seoul on April 5, 2015. More than 200 people participated in the march from Ansan city. Many of them were the parents of the 250 students who died when the overloaded ferry sank off Jindo on April 16, 2014.
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ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images
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Relatives of victims of the Sewol ferry hold portraits of victims during a rally on April 5, 2015 in Seoul. Relatives, students and citizens attended the vigil to pay tribute to the victims of the ferry disaster and demanded that the wreckage be salvaged.
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Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
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Sewol ferry captain Lee Joon-Seok was acquitted of murder, avoiding a death sentence, but was sentenced to 36 years in jail on November 11 for his role in the maritime disaster that killed more than 300.
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Wonsuk Choi/AFP/Getty Images
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Shoes believed to belong to the missing and the deceased are on display at the harbor.
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K.J. Kwon
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Jindo harbor, where the search operation is based, has become a memorial for those who lost their lives. Yellow ribbons and photos are displayed as people come to pay their respects.
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K.J. Kwon
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A joint government-civilian task force is still looking for the missing, but winter is fast approaching.
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K.J. Kwon
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Ten are still missing from tragic ferry sinking last April, which killed more than 300. Six months later, families are still waiting for their loved ones to be found. The parents of 16-year-old Huh Da-yoon, pictured, are among them.
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K.J. Kwon
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The families of the ten who remain missing have been waiting in Jindo Indoor Gymnasium since the first day. Families can watch search mission in real time on a large monitor in the gym.
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K.J. Kwon
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South Korean President Park Geun-hye weeps while delivering a speech to the nation about the sunken ferry Sewol at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, May 19. More than 200 bodies have been found and nearly 100 people remain missing after the ferry sank April 16 off South Korea's southwest coast.
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Do Kwang-hwan/Yonhap/Ap
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Police in Seoul detain a protester during a march Saturday, May 17, for victims of the Sewol.
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YANG JI-WOONG/epa/LANDOV
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A girl in Seoul holds a candle during a service paying tribute to the victims of the Sewol on Wednesday, April 30.
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
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People pay tribute to victims at a memorial altar in Ansan, South Korea, on Tuesday, April 29.
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Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
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A police officer holds an umbrella for a relative of a missing ferry passenger Monday, April 28, in Jindo, South Korea.
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
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South Korean Buddhists carry lanterns in a parade in Seoul on Saturday, April 26, to honor the memory of the dead and the safe return of the missing.
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Divers search for people in the waters near Jindo on April 26.
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Yonhap/AP
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People in Ansan attend a memorial for the victims on April 26.
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NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images
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A diver jumps into the sea near the sunken ferry on Friday, April 25.
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Yonhap/AP
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A relative of a passenger weeps while waiting for news of his missing loved one at a port in Jindo on April 25.
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
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People attend a memorial for the victims at the Olympic Memorial Hall in Ansan on Thursday, April 24.
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KIM DOO-HO/AFP/Getty Images
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Yellow ribbons honoring the victims flap in the wind as a hearse carrying a victim's body leaves Danwon High School in Ansan on April 24. Most of the people on board the ferry were high school students on their way to the resort island of Jeju.
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Lee Jin-man/AP
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People attend a memorial for the victims at Olympic Memorial Hall in Ansan.
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KIM DOO-HO/AFP/Getty Images
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Search personnel dive into the sea on Wednesday, April 23.
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Yonhap/AP
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Flares light up the search area on Tuesday, April 22.
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ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images
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The sun sets over the site of the sunken ferry on April 22.
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ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images
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A relative of a ferry passenger prays as she waits for news in Jindo on April 22.
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
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The search for victims continues April 22 in the waters of the Yellow Sea.
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YONHAP/EPA/LANDOV
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Rescue workers in Jindo carry the body of a passenger on Monday, April 21.
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Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
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Divers jump into the water on April 21 to search for passengers near the buoys that mark the site of the sunken ferry.
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Search operations continue as flares illuminate the scene near Jindo on Sunday, April 20.
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Relatives of missing passengers grieve April 20 in Jindo.
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Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
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Relatives of passengers look out at the sea from Jindo on April 20.
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Lee Jin-man/AP
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Police officers in Jindo stand guard Saturday, April 19, to prevent relatives of the ferry's missing passengers from jumping in the water. Some relatives said they will swim to the shipwreck site and find their missing family members by themselves.
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
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Family members of missing passengers hug as they await news of their missing relatives at Jindo Gymnasium on April 19.
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KIMIMASA MAYAMA/EPA /LANDOV
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South Korean Navy Ship Salvage Unit members prepare to salvage the sunken ferry and search for missing people on April 19.
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KIMIMASA MAYAMA/EPA /LANDOV
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Lee Joon Suk, the captain of the Sewol, is escorted to the court that issued his arrest warrant Friday, April 18, in Mokpo, South Korea.
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Yonhap/AP
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A woman cries as she waits for news on missing passengers April 18 in Jindo.
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Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
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A searchlight illuminates the capsized ferry on Thursday, April 17.
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Yonhap/AP
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A woman cries during a candlelight vigil at Danwon High School in Ansan, South Korea, on April 17.
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Wonghae Cho/AP
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Family members of passengers aboard the sunken ferry gather at a gymnasium in Jindo on April 17.
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
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The body of a victim is moved at a hospital in Mokpo on April 17.
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Yonhap/AP
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Relatives of a passenger cry at a port in Jindo on April 17 as they wait for news on the rescue operation.
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South Korean coast guard members and rescue teams search for passengers at the site of the sunken ferry on April 17.
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Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
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A relative of a passenger cries as she waits for news on Wednesday, April 16.
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
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Relatives check a list of survivors April 16 in Jindo.
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Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
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Rescue crews attempt to save passengers from the ferry on April 16.
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Republic of Korea Coast Guard/Getty Images
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A relative waits for a missing loved one at the port in Jindo.
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
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Parents at Danwon High School search for names of their children among the list of survivors. Ansan is a suburb of Seoul, the South Korean capital.
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
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Helicopters hover over the ferry as rescue operations continue April 16.
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Officials escort rescued passengers April 16 in Jindo.
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Park Chul-heung/Yonhap/AP
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A passenger is helped onto a rescue boat on April 16.
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The Republic of Korea Coast Guard/Getty Images
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A passenger is rescued from the sinking ship on April 16.
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Republic of Korea Coast Guard/Getty Images
The captain was one those rescued soon after the Sewol began to sink, violating an “internationally recognized rule that a captain must stay on the vessel,” maritime law attorney Jack Hickey said.
“Pretty much every law, rule, regulation and standard throughout the world says that yes, the captain must stay with the ship until all personnel are safely off of the ship, certainly passengers.”
More ships, aircraft
Hopes of finding the missing alive dimmed further when the entire boat became submerged Friday. Until then, part of the ship’s blue-and-white hull was still poking out of the frigid waters of the Yellow Sea.
The coast guard said workers continued to pump air into the hull of the submerged ship, but could not stop its descent. The ferry boat sank 10 meters (33 feet) farther below the surface of the Yellow Sea overnight, Maritime Police told CNN Saturday.
Still, divers breached the hull of the sunken ferry, and two managed to enter the second deck – the cargo deck, the South Korean coast guard said. But rough waters forced them out. They didn’t find any bodies in their brief search.
The effort was still underway in earnest Saturday morning featuring helicopters circling above the water and about 120 vessels – from large warships to fishing ships to dinghies – in the water, in addition to the divers under it.
Four cranes also sit about 500 yards from the focal point, ready to lift the ferry if and when the order comes in.
That hasn’t happened yet, though, with authorities not yet giving up on finding survivors.
Compounding the tragedy, one of those rescued – a high school vice principal who was on board the ferry along with more than 300 students – was found hanging from a tree, police said.
Kang Min Kyu, 52, vice principal of Ansan Danwon High School, was among the first survivors to be rescued.
Police said he apparently hanged himself, using a belt, from a tree near a gymnasium in Jindo, where distraught relatives of missing passengers have been camping.
Police confirmed a suicide note was found, but declined to release its contents.
Anger and disgust
South Korean ferry rescue operation
Relatives of passengers expressed increasing disgust and anger about the lack of explanation from the captain and the pace of the rescue effort.
Some have waited for days in the cold rain at a harbor in Jindo.
Others camped at a nearby gymnasium and auditorium, desperate to hear any news of their loved ones. Relatives overcome with emotion howled and screamed, but to no avail.
“Hurry up, find it faster!” one woman wailed.
Any hope for survival largely hinges on whether passengers may be in air pockets within the ship, which isn’t unheard of in such cases.
In May 2013, a tugboat capsized off West Africa. Rescuers pulled out a man from 100 feet below the surface who survived 2½ days inside a 4-square-foot air pocket.
That’s one reason family members aren’t ready to give up hope.
Part of the frustration stems from the conflicting information reported by officials.
In the hours after the sinking, some analysts speculated the ferry may have veered off course and struck an object. But the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Thursday that it had approved the boat’s intended route, and the actual course did not deviate significantly.
But Kim Soo Hyeon, chief of South Korea’sYellow Sea Maritime Police Agency,later said the ship apparently deviated from its planned route but did not appear to have hit a rock.
’Ship is tilted’
The Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries released a transcript of the conversation between the ferry and center that monitors vessel traffic.
After alerting the center that the ferry was rolling, the Sewol stated that “the body of the ship is tilted to the left. Containers fell over, too.”
The control center then asked if people were hurt. Impossible to confirm because it was impossible to move, the ferry responded.
The center told the ferry crew to get people ready for evacuation, and the ferry once again described how hard it was for people to move.
Adding to the pain for families, police said texts and social media messages claiming to be from missing passengers turned out to be fake.
Media outlets, including CNN, shared the texts with a wide audience.
“We will investigate people sending out these messages,” said Lee Sung Yoon, head of the combined police and prosecution team.
He said authorities will go after those behind the hoaxes and will “punish them severely.”
CNN’s Paula Hancocks reported from Jindo, Stella Kim reported from Seoul, and Chelsea J Carter reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN’s Holly Yan, Frances Cha, Kyung Lah, Madison Park and Mariano Castillo also contributed to this report.
