South Korea's coastguard has released a video showing the trouserless captain of a sinking ferry escaping to safety as hundreds of students remained trapped inside, Agence France-Presse reported.
In a move that is expected to intensify criticism of the crew over the tragic incident, the 10 minute video shows 69-year-old captain Lee Joon-seok, wearing a sweater and underpants, as he is helped onto a rescue boat from the bridge of the tilting ship.
The footage was captured by rescue officials and aired in the YTN news channel after the ship sank on April 16.
Charges of negligence and abandonment of passengers have been placed on all 15 of the surviving crew. They have been taken into custody for failing to take responsibility during the sinking of the huge ferry.
"Victims' families have bitterly criticized the official response to the disaster, saying delays in accessing the submerged ship may have robbed any survivors of their last chance to make it out alive," AFP reported.
The video has garnered more attention, prompting users to express caustic online comments.
"Look at the captain running out of the ship without his pants on. How pathetic. Can't believe he didn't think about all the children trapped there while he rushed so quickly to save his own life," said one user.
As part of a widening investigation into the disaster that left 300 dead or missing, prosecutors carried out a series of raids, including on a coastguard office, on Monday.
"Divers trying to search the wreck of the upturned Sewol, which capsized with 476 people on board, were frustrated for a third straight day by atrocious weather and dangerous conditions," AFP reported. "Despite more than 60 hours of operations since Friday by divers trying to penetrate the flooded interior, only two more bodies have been recovered and 113 are still unaccounted for."
On Monday, the confirmed death toll from one of the country's worst ever maritime disasters tolled at 189. Most of the missing and dead comprised of high school students.
