All 15 crew members involved in navigating the doomed South Korean ferry which left 302 people dead or missing after sinking, are now in custody, authorities said today.

The South Korean authorities have arrested four more crew members from the ferry that sank last week, bringing the total number detained to 11.

The official death toll in the South Korea ferry disaster reached 150 today as the grim work of recovering bodies from the submerged vessel continued.

New evidence shows that the sunken South Korean ferry did not make a sharp turn shortly before the disaster, but changed course much more gradually, it has emerged.

The confirmed death toll from South Korea’s ferry disaster rose past 50 yesterday as divers finally found a way inside the sunken vessel, quickly discovering more than a dozen bodies in what almost certainly is just the beginning of a massive and grim recovery effort.

After more than three days of frustration and failure, divers have finally found a way into a submerged ferry off South Korea’s southern shore, discovering more than a dozen bodies inside the ship and pushing the confirmed death toll to 50.

The captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized off the southwest coast was facing a criminal investigation amid unconfirmed reports that he was one of the first people to jump to safety as the vessel began sinking.

An immediate evacuation order was not issued for the stricken South Korean ferry because officers on the bridge were trying to stabilise the vessel after it started to list amid confusion and chaos, a crew member says.

A ferry carrying 459 people, mostly high school students, has sunk off South Korea, leaving at least three people dead and nearly 300 missing.

Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung has been left out of South Korea’s preliminary squad for the Olympic Games.