SEOUL, Apr 18 (Reuters): A junior officer was steering a South Korean ferry when it capsized two days ago, investigators said on Friday, as rescuers battled strong tides and murky waters to search for hundreds of missing, many of them school children, feared trapped in the vessel.
Local media said the Sewol ferry may have made a sharp turn during its journey on Wednesday, which caused its cargo to shift and the boat to list sharply and begin to sink.
Investigators declined to comment on the reports.
Twenty eight passengers are officially listed as dead, 179 have been rescued and 268 are missing, presumed trapped in the stricken vessel, out of 475 passengers and crew bound from the port of Incheon to the holiday island of Jeju.
Many of the missing are children from a school on the outskirts of Seoul and hopes are fading that any will be found alive.
"We cannot even see the ship's white color. Our people are just touching the hull with their hands," Kim Chun-il, a diver from Undine Marine Industries, told relatives gathered near the site of the rescue effort in the port city of Jindo.
Kim said that two divers had to return to the surface when an air pump stopped and said strong tides were impeding the rescue.
Rescuers have pumped air into the vessel, but divers have not yet entered areas of the ship where many of the missing are believed to be.
Coastguard officials have said the investigation was focused on possible crew negligence, problems with cargo stowage and structural defects of the vessel, although the ship appears to have passed all of its safety and insurance checks.
The captain, Lee Joon-seok, faces criminal investigation, which is standard procedure in South Korea.
Both the 69-year-old Lee and the company that owns the ship have apologized for the loss of life, although neither has admitted responsibility.
Investigators said Lee may not have been on the bridge at the time of the accident and the vessel was being steered by the third mate, although shipping crew said this was standard practice.
The ferry went down in calm conditions and was following a frequently traveled 400 km (300 mile) route in familiar waters. Although relatively close to shore, the area was free of rocks and reefs.
