South Korean ferry now completely underwater; death toll climbs to 28 - CNN

• The official death toll now stands at 28 people; about 271 remain missing


• The coast guard says crews are pumping air into the sunken ferry


• Prosecutor: A third mate, not the captain, was at the helm of the ship


• Overwhelmed relatives collapse and are taken away on stretchers

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Jindo, South Korea (CNN) -- As divers raced to reach hundreds of people believed to be inside a sunken ferry boat, the death toll from the disaster rose to 28 Friday.

Rescue workers managed to breach the hull of a sunken ferry and two divers managed to enter the second deck -- the cargo deck, the Coast Guard said. But rough waters forced them back out again. They didn't find any bodies in their brief search.

"The guide line that links the sunken ship and the rescue vessel has been cut off," the Coast Guard said. "Still, the entrance into the ship is open and we plan to resume operation to enter the ship."

It's a race against time.

Hopes of finding the roughly 270 people still missing dimmed further when the entire boat became submerged underwater Friday. Until then, part of the ship's blue and white hull was still poking out of the frigid waters of the Yellow Sea.

On top of that, divers must contend with fierce winds and rough waters.

A searchlight illuminates the Sewol, a capsized South Korean ferry, in the waters of the Yellow Sea near Jindo, South Korea, on Thursday, April 17. It is not yet known what caused the ship to sink.

Lee Joon Suk, the captain of the Sewol, arrives at the Mokpo Police Station in Mokpo, South Korea, on April 17. His head and face covered, he broke down in tears when reporters asked if he had anything to say.

A woman cries during a candlelight vigil at Danwon High School in Ansan, South Korea, on April 17. Most of the people on board were high school students on their way to a resort island called Jeju.

Rescue personnel dive April 17 during search operations for passengers.

Family members of passengers who were aboard the sunken ferry gather at a gymnasium in Jindo on April 17.

The body of a victim is moved at a hospital in Mokpo on April 17.

Relatives of a passenger cry at a port in Jindo on April 17 as they wait for news on the rescue operation.

South Korean Coast Guard members and rescue teams search for passengers at the site of the sunken ferry on April 17.

A relative of a passenger cries as she waits for news on Wednesday, April 16.

South Korean Coast Guard members search for survivors from the Sewol as it sinks on April 16.

Rescue teams and fishing boats try to rescue passengers on April 16.

The body of a ferry passenger is moved into a hospital in Jindo on April 16.

Relatives check a list of survivors April 16 in Jindo.

Relatives of missing ferry passengers wait for news at a gym in Jindo.

Rescue crews attempt to save passengers from the ferry on April 16.

A South Korean Coast Guard helicopter lifts passengers off the vessel on April 16.

Police and rescue teams carry a passenger at the port in Jindo on April 16.

A relative waits for a missing loved one at the port in Jindo.

Parents at Danwon High School search for names of their children among the list of survivors. Ansan is a suburb of Seoul, the South Korean capital.

Helicopters hover over the ferry as rescue operations continue April 16.

A man in Seoul watches a news broadcast about the sinking vessel.

Officials escort rescued passengers April 16 in Jindo.

A passenger is helped onto a rescue boat on April 16.

A passenger is rescued from the sinking ship on April 16.

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"There are heavy currents in the area. So the vessel itself is not stable in the water. So you are, by default, putting divers at risk," U.S. Navy Capt. Heidi Agle told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. The U.S. Navy is assisting with the South Korean search.

The cause of the accident still isn't known. But a Korean prosecutor said the captain wasn't in the steering room when the ship 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, Lee Joon Suk, was one of at least 179 people rescued soon after Wednesday's sinking. A bigger number -- 271 -- were still missing Friday morning, the South Korean coast guard said.

Anger and disgust

Relatives of passengers expressed increasing disgust and anger over the lack of explanation from the captain and the pace of the rescue effort.

Some have waited for days in the cold rain at a harbor in Jindo, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the sunken boat.

Others camped out a nearby gymnasium and auditorium, desperate to hear any news of their loved ones. Relatives overcome with emotion howled and screamed, but to no avail.

"Hurry up, find it faster!" one woman wailed.

Several relatives collapsed. At least two women were taken away on stretchers.

Part of the frustration stems from the conflicting information reported by officials.

In the hours after the sinking, several analysts speculated the ferry may have veered off course and struck an object. But the South Korean Oceans and Fisheries Ministry said Thursday that it had approved the boat's intended route, and the actual course did not deviate significantly.

Yet Kim Soo Hyeon, the chief of South Korea's Yellow Sea Maritime Police Agency, later said it appears the ship did deviate from its planned route but did not appear it hit a rock.

Adding to the pain for families, police said text messages said to be from missing passengers turned out to be fake, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

Cranes arrive

On Friday, the South Korean Coast Guard said workers continued to pump air into the hull of the submerged ship, but could not arrest its descent.

Any hope for survival largely hinges on whether passengers may be floundering in air pockets within the ship.

In May 2013, a tugboat capsized off west Africa. Rescuers pulled out a man from 100 feet below surface who survived 2 and 1/2 days inside a 4-square-foot air pocket.

That's one reason family members aren't ready to give up hope just yet.

"When they're in a small compartment ... with an air-bubble, they really have to stay calm and breathe shallow and conserve the oxygen in that space," former Navy diver Bobbie Scholley told CNN.

But in the case of the South Korean ferry, there's another challenge to contend with: time and temperature.

"Absolutely, there could be areas in there where there is breathable air," Mike Dean, the U.S. Navy deputy director for salvage and diving, said. "But the trouble right now is the temperature and getting people to them."

Adding to the relative's despair was the arrival of three 3,600-ton seaborne cranes. They fear the cranes' presence means the mission is shifting from search to salvage.

A fourth crane arrives later.

A Coast Guard official assured families nothing would be done to jeopardize the safety of possible survivors.

"Let me be clear," Kim Soo-hyun told journalists. "There won't be any salvaging work done against the will of the bereaved families."

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CNN's Kyung Lah, Frances Cha, Brian Walker, Stella Kim, Madison Park and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

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