Korea Ferry Captain, Three Crew Charged With Homicide

SEOUL—South Korea on Thursday indicted the captain of the sunken ferry Sewol and three senior crew members on homicide charges, an official at the prosecutor’s office in the port city of Mokpo said.

Eleven other crew members were indicted for negligence, the official said by telephone. The three senior crew members charged with homicide are the first officer, the second officer and the chief engineer, said the official.

Prosecutors have been investigating for weeks the crew members who abandoned the ship as it capsized off the southwest coast of Korea on April 16.

There were 476 people on board, and 281 have been confirmed dead. Most of those lost were high-school students, stuck below deck as the ferry turned on its side.

Legal representatives for the crew members couldn’t be reached for comment.