All surviving crew members of a sunken South Korean ferry were in custody and under arrest on Saturday, prosecutors said, as bad weather prevented the recovery of any of the more-than 100 bodies still missing.
The Sewol’s captain, lee Joon-Seok, and 10 crew members had already been arrested on charges ranging from criminal negligence to abandoning passengers.
The remaining four were arrested on Saturday after warrants were issued, prosecutors said. The confirmed death toll from the tragedy stood today at 187, with 115 unaccounted for — many bodies are believed trapped in the ferry that capsized on April 16 on a routine voyage to the southern resort island of Jeju with 476 people on board.
The ship’s captain has been sharply criticised for delaying the evacuation order until the ferry was listing so badly that escape was almost impossible.Prosecutors have raided a host of businesses affiliated with the ferry operator, the Chonghaejin Marine Company, as part of an overall probe into corrupt management.
The widening investigation has also seen travel bans put on eight current and former executives of the Korea Register of Shipping — the body responsible for issuing marine safety certificates. A looming storm and high tides put a temporary halt to operations to recover the remains of those still missing over a week after the disaster.