Death toll rises to 25 in ferry sinking, with bodies floating

Lee Joon-Seok (C), captain of the South Korean ferry "Sewol" which sank at sea off Jindo, is investigated at Mokpo police station in Mokpo April 17, 2014.[Photo/Agencies]

While Lee and some of the crew members have been criticised for their role in the sinking, he was described as a "veteran" by Chonghaejin Marine Co.

Passengers wait for words

'I am sorry,' captain says

"He is a veteran captain who has run such passenger ferry between Incheon and Jeju for 20 years," said Song Ki-chae, who heads one of Chunghaejin's branch offices.

Song paid tribute to Park Ji-young, one of the crew members who died after escorting children to safety and helping them don life jackets.

Of the 20 crew, half are not accounted for.

Officials will investigate Chunghaejin, the unlisted operator, which owns four other vessels, and which reported an operating loss of 785 million won ($756,000) last year.

Earlier efforts to locate survivors inside the hull, which is still partly above water, did not succeed. Data shows that the speed of the underwater current varies throughout the day and, at its strongest, hit 10km/h, making diving impossible.

Although the water at the site of the accident is relatively shallow at under 50 metres (165 feet), it is still dangerous for the 150 or so divers working flat out, experts said. Time was running out to find any survivors trapped inside, they said.

"The chances of finding people in there (alive) are not zero," said David Jardine-Smith, secretary of the International Maritime Rescue Federation. However, he said conditions were extremely difficult.

"There is a lot of water current and silt in the water, which means visibility is very poor and the divers are basically feeling their way around."