South Korean Ferry: All Navigation Crew Members in Custody

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A relative of a passenger aboard the sunken ferry Sewol is consoled by a Buddhist nun, left, as she waits for news on her missing loved one at a port in Jindo, South Korea, Saturday, April 26, 2014.

Image: Ahn Young-joon/Associated Press

By Anita Li2014-04-26 13:48:59 UTC

All 15 crew members involved in navigating the South Korean ferry are in custody, according to a prosecutor investigating the ship's sinking, which has left 187 dead and 115 missing so far.

Prosecutor Yang Jung-jin, a member of the joint-investigation team, said four crew members were detained on Saturday, according to multiple reports. Eleven other members, including the Sewol's captain Lee Joon-seok, were previously arrested on negligence charges.

See also: South Korea Confirms It Sent Wrong Bodies to Families of Ferry Victims

Despite mounting public outrage against the crew — South Korean President Park Geun-hye compared the actions of the captain and some crew to murder — several survivors of the disaster have recalled acts of heroism by some crew. At least seven of the ferry's 29 crew members are dead or missing, while some of those who survived remained on or near the ship to assist passengers, according to the Associated Press.

More than 300 people are dead or missing after the Sewol capsized off the southern coast of South Korea last week. Of the 476 people on board, there were more than 330 students and teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, a city near Seoul. Only 174 people have been rescued. Search-and-rescue teams have been retrieving bodies from the water, and officials are in the process of identifying victims.

The South Korean government reportedly admitted that it sent the wrong bodies to victims' families. Officials later announced a plan to ensure no more bodies would be misidentified, which involves identifying victims through DNA testing, dental records or fingerprinting.

U.S. President Barack Obama offered his condolences to South Korea after landing in the country on Friday.

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Topics: South Korea, south korea ferry, US & World, World