SEOUL: The captain of a South Korean ferry that capsized three days ago, leaving 28 people confirmed dead and 268 missing, was arrested early ON Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported.

Lee Joon-Seok faces five charges, including negligence of duty and violation of maritime law, the agency said.

A joint investigation team of police and prosecutors on Friday had sought arrest warrants for Lee, 52, and two of his crew without specifying charges, the coastguard had said.

Yonhap said a local court in Mokpo had issued warrants for him and two other crew members, citing the possibility that they may flee or destroy evidence.

Earlier, prosecutors said Lee had handed the helm to his third officer before the ferry capsized.

Earlier, prosecutors said Lee had handed the helm to his third officer before the ferry capsized.

The breakthrough by dive teams in finally accessing the ship came more than 48 hours after the Sewol went down — a delay that has incensed the relatives of those still unaccounted for.

After several attempts, two divers managed to pry open a door and enter the cargo section on Friday afternoon, a senior coastguard official said.

Hours later another two-man team accessed one of the cabins, but found nothing. “The search operation will continue through the night,” the official said.

“Visibility is almost non-existent. You can hardly see your hand in front of you face,” said one diver when he returned to the harbour at nearby Jindo island.

Of the 475 people on board the Sewol, only 179 were rescued and no new survivors have been found since Wednesday.

Three giant, floating cranes reached the rescue site, but regional coastguard commander Kim Soo-Hyun stressed they would not begin lifting the multi-deck ferry until they were sure there were no survivors inside.

“I want to be clear: There won’t be any salvage work done against the will of the families,” Kim said.

More than 350 of the passengers were students from Danwon High School in Ansan city just south of Seoul.

Local police said they found the body on Friday of Danwon High School vice-principal, Kang Min-Kyu, who had managed to escape the Sewol as it sank.

Multiple local media reports said he had been found hanging by his belt from a tree, and Yonhap news agency cited a suicide note police found in his wallet.

“Surviving alone is too painful... I take full responsibility,” the note said.

Captain Lee and his 28 crew, most of whom survived the disaster, have been heavily criticised after reports that they were among the first to abandon ship.

“The captain was not in command when the accident took place,” prosecutor Park Jae-Eok told a press briefing. “It was the third officer who was steering the ship,” he said.