The captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized with 475 passengers on board was not at helm of the ship when it capsized, according to investigators.
The third officer was understood to be piloting the ship when the tragedy occurred, an investigating prosecutor has told a news conference, and the captain may not even have been on the bridge at the time.
"He may have been off the bridge ... and the person at the helm at the time was the third officer," the investigator said.
"The captain was not in command when the accident took place," he added.
It has also been revealed that the captain, Lee Joon-seok, 68, delayed evacuation for half an hour after the distress signal ws sent, leading some to suggest more lives could have been saved had he acted sooner.
Family members of missing passengers wait for news at a gym in Jindo Oh Yong-seok, a helmsman on the ferry with 10 years of shipping experience, said that when the crew gathered on the bridge and sent a distress call, the ship was already listing more than five degrees, the critical angle at which a vessel can be brought back to even keel.
About half and hour after passengers were told to stay where they were, Lee finally gave the order to abandon ship, Oh said, adding that he wasn't sure that in the confusion and chaos on the bridge if the order was relayed to the passengers.
Several survivors have said they did not hear any evacuation orders.
By the time the order was given, it was impossible for crew members to move to passengers' rooms to help them because the ship was tilted at an impossibly acute angle, he said.
Relatives wait for news from the rescue teams in Jindo It has been suggested the evacuation delay also prevented lifeboats from being deployed in time.
The confirmed death toll from the sinking off the Sewol is 25, but that number is expected to rise sharply with about 270 people still missing. Officials have so far confirmed only 179 survivors.
Some 325 of the passengers were students from Danwon High School near Seoul.
Out of 29 crewmembers, 20 people including Lee, survived. After the tragedy, Lee made a brief, videotaped appearance, although his face was hidden by a gray hoodie.
"I am really sorry and deeply ashamed," he said. "I don't know what to say."
Divers are working in shifts to try get into the upturned ship to pump oxygen into the vessel to help any survivors. But their attempts are being hampered by strong currents and freezing temperatures.
The 146-metre (480ft) ship had left Incheon on the northwestern coast of South Korea on Tuesday for the overnight journey to the southern resort island of Jeju.
It was three hours from its destination on Wednesday morning when it began to list for reasons unknown.
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