Arrest warrant issued for captain, 2 crew members

Jindo, South Korea (CNN) -- An arrest warrant has been issued for the captain of the ferry that sank off the coast of South Korea, an accident that killed 28 people and left nearly 270 missing.

Two other crew members also face arrest, a spokesman for the joint prosecutor and police investigators said Friday.

The spokesman did not provide any further detail.

The cause of the accident still isn't known. But a South Korean prosecutor said the captain, Lee Joon Suk, wasn't in the steering room when the Sewol started to sink; a third mate was at the helm.


"It is not clear where (the captain) was when the accident occurred, although it is clear that he was not in the steering room before the actual accident happened," state prosecutor Jae-Eok Park said Friday.

The captain was one of at least 179 people rescued soon after Wednesday's sinking.

Compounding that tragedy, one of those rescued, a high school vice principal