Commander of the sunken ferry Seowl speaks about allegations of delaying evacuation.

Passengers who survived the Seowl ferry tragedy said the crew ordered them to stay put as the ferry began to sink.

On the morning of April 19, Lee Joon-Seok, 68, the commander of the Sewol ferry, was arrested along with two other crew members on charges of negligence of duty and violating maritime law.

Upon his arrest, Lee Joon-Seok confessed that he delayed the evacuation when the Sewol ferry sank for safety reasons.

Seowl ferry commander Lee Joon-Seok said, "I apologize." (Photo: BBC)

AFP quoted the Sewol ferry commander as saying: "At the time the ferry sank, rescue ships did not arrive in time. There were also no fishing boats or any other vessels around us to provide assistance."

Mr. Lee said, "The ocean current is very strong and freezing cold. I fear that if passengers evacuate without thinking or consideration, they will be swept away by the current and face many dangers."

Cho Joon-ki, the ferry's operator at the time and one of the sailors arrested on the morning of April 19, explained that the ferry did not function as he had hoped.

The Korea Herald quoted Cho Joon-ki as saying, "The control system caused the ferry to veer further than expected."

According to AP, survivors of the Sewol ferry disaster said the crew ordered them to stay put when the ferry began to sink. The evacuation order was only given about 30 minutes later, but it was already too late.

According to John Noble, a rescue expert quoted by the BBC, the ferry struggled on the water for about two hours before sinking, which is a significant amount of time.

“Normally, a ship or ferry can be evacuated completely within 90 minutes. But this isn't true in every case. The crew must act flexibly when the ship is in distress. I always tell people to stay on board because that's the safest place. But if the ship is sinking rapidly, everyone can immediately jump into the sea to escape,” Noble said.

Surviving passengers and crew members said that as the ferry tilted, the sloping deck and the rapid sinking made it very difficult for them to move and evacuate.

Filled with sorrow and regret, the commander of the Sewol ferry bowed his head and offered his apologies to the victims and their families: "I sincerely apologize to the Korean people for causing this turmoil, and I bow my head in apology to the families of the victims."

The Sewol ferry sank on April 16 off the southwestern coast of South Korea. At least 29 people have died, 174 have been rescued, and 273 are believed to still be trapped.

According to VOV