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MOKPO, South Korea (AP) — A coast guard official in South Korea says investigators are looking into whether the captain of the sunken ferry got on the first rescue boat at the scene. The captain was among the crew members who survived the sinking, which may have killed nearly 300 people.
There are still more than 270 people unaccounted for, while the number of confirmed deaths has reached 20.
A crew member says as the ship started to list, there was no immediate order for passengers to evacuate, because officers were still trying to stabilize the vessel.
Video that was shot by a survivor shows the vessel listing severely as people in life jackets cling to the side of the ship. A loudspeaker announcement can be heard telling passengers to stay in their quarters.
The search for people who were on board the ferry has been hampered today by strong, dangerous currents, as well as rain and bad visibility. But officials say divers will keep trying to enter the ship.
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179-v-32-(Rita Foley, AP correspondent)--Twenty people are known dead in the sinking of a ferry off the coast of South Korea; hundreds more are still missing. And we're now learning more about the actions of the captain in those final minutes. AP correspondent Rita Foley reports. (17 Apr 2014)
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178-v-31-(Rita Foley, AP correspondent)--Authorities are investigating a report that the captain was one of the first people off that ferry that sank off the coast of South Korea. Twenty people are known dead and hundreds more are still missing. AP correspondent Rita Foley has more. (17 Apr 2014)
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GRAPHICSBANK: Rescue helicopters fly over the sinking South Korean passenger ferry "Sewol" off the southern coast of South Korea, on texture with FERRY DISASTER lettering, finished graphic (16 Apr 2014)
APPHOTO SEL804: South Korean Coast Guard officers try to rescue missing passengers from a sunken ferry in the water off the southern coast near Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 17, 2014. Fears rose Thursday for the fate of more than 280 passengers still missing more than 24 hours after their ferry flipped onto its side and filled with water off the southern coast of South Korea. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT (17 Apr 2014)
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APPHOTO XAHN110: Relatives of a passenger aboard a sunken ferry weep as they wait for news on the rescue operation, at a port in Jindo, South Korea, Thursday, April 17, 2014. Strong currents, rain and bad visibility hampered an increasingly anxious search Thursday for more than 280 passengers still missing a day after their ferry flipped onto its side and sank in cold waters off the southern coast of South Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) (17 Apr 2014)
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