South Korea Ferry Disaster Captain 'Arrested'

The captain of the South Korean ship that sank leaving 28 dead and hundreds missing has reportedly been arrested.

South Korean news agency Yonhap said Lee Joon-Seok, 68, was facing five charges including negligence of duty and violation of maritime law.

Two other crew members are also said to have been detained for failing in their duty to help passengers.

It comes as video emerged showing Mr Lee landing with the first group of survivors, leaving behind hundreds of stranded passengers.

The confirmed death toll from the Sewol is 28, but that number is expected to rise with 274 people still missing. Officials said there were 179 survivors.

The ship sank rapidly and hundreds are feared dead

Some 325 passengers were students from Danwon High School near Seoul, making the 13-hour trip to the holiday island of Jeju.

The captain was not at the helm of the ship when it capsized in calm conditions on Wednesday, according to investigators.

Authorities said the third officer is understood to have been piloting the ship and the captain may not have been on the bridge.

Pupils hold a vigil at Danwon High School near Seoul

They are also looking at whether the third officer ordered an abrupt turn, causing the ship to tilt severely and take on water, said prosecutor Park Jae-Eok.

The captain also delayed evacuation for half an hour after the distress signal was sent, suggesting more lives could have been saved had he acted sooner.

Oh Yong-Seok, a helmsman on the ferry, said when the crew sent a distress call, the ship was already listing more than five degrees.

A woman weeps as she waits for news of her loved ones

About half an hour after passengers were told to stay put, Mr Lee finally gave the order to abandon ship, according to Mr Oh.

He said he was unsure - given the confusion on the bridge - whether the order was relayed to the passengers.

Several survivors have said they did not hear any evacuation orders.

By the time the order was given, it was impossible for crew members to get to passengers because the ship was tilted at an impossibly acute angle, he said.

The ferry sank on its way to the island of Jeju

A school vice-principal who was with the children on the ship hanged himself from a tree, police confirmed on Friday.

A suicide note reportedly read: "Surviving alone is too painful while 200 remain unaccounted for. I take full responsibility. I pushed ahead with the school trip.

"I will once again become a teacher in the afterlife for my students whose bodies have not been discovered."

Many of the missing children used their phones to send desperate 'goodbye' messages to their friends and family as the ship sank.

Hope of finding any survivors is slim - divers have managed to enter the cargo deck but failed to get into any passenger areas.

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