Angry South Korea families protest over slow ferry rescue

Scuffles broke out as police prevented families from crossing a bridge

Families of passengers on a sunken South Korean ferry have protested angrily over the rescue operation.

Police stopped up to 100 people trying to leave Jindo island intending to march to the country's capital, Seoul.

After more than three days, divers have now finally entered the ferry, retrieving 22 bodies and bringing the death toll to 54.

However, another 248 people are still missing from the Sewol ferry, which sank on Wednesday.

Some 174 passengers were rescued.

'Lying'

Jonathan Head: "This is still a very slow process, painfully slow for the families"

Boats carrying 13 of the recently retrieved bodies arrived at Paengmok Port on Jindo on Sunday.

About 200 ships, 34 aircraft and 600 divers have been taking part in the search operation, our correspondent says.

Squid fishing boats with powerful lights have been brought in to help the divers operate at night.

But the currents are still strong and the visibility remains challenging.

Coastguard official Koh Myung-seok told a briefing that divers had discovered a number of routes into the ferry, and found bodies in different locations.

'Inexperienced'

The captain and two other crew members are in custody and have been charged with negligence of duty and violation of maritime law.

Officials said on Saturday that the ferry was being steered by an inexperienced third mate in unfamiliar waters when it sank.

Tempers have flared at times between relatives of those on board and police

The South Korea prime minister Chung Hong-won addressed the relatives directly on Sunday

Rescue workers unloaded some of the bodies at a port in Jindo on Sunday

The captain of the ferry, 69-year-old Lee Joon-seok, was not initially on the bridge when the ship ran into trouble.

The Sewol, carrying 476 passengers and crew, capsized during a journey from the port of Incheon in the north-west to the southern holiday island of Jeju.

Investigations are focusing on a sharp turn the vessel took before it started listing and whether an evacuation order could have saved lives.

Some experts believe the ship's tight turn could have dislodged heavy cargo and destabilised the vessel, while others suggest the sinking could have been caused by a collision with a rock.

Messages and phone calls from those inside painted a picture of people trapped in crowded corridors, unable to escape the sharply-listing ferry.

Footage from the ship appeared to show instructions from crew members for passengers to remain on board even as it tilted dramatically to one side.

Some 350 of those on board were students from Danwon High School in Ansan, a suburb of Seoul, who were on a school outing when the ferry sank.

On Saturday officials said the operation to recover the ship may take up to two months.

They have so far delayed raising the ferry because of the possibility of endangering possible survivors.

Now officials admit that it is very unlikely for anyone else to have survived.

At the scene

Martin PatienceJindo island

There was grief, anger and desperation as dozens of relatives tried to push through a massive police cordon. They said they wanted to march to the capital and occupy the presidential house. It was a purely symbolic act as Seoul is a five-hour drive away but yet another example of the frustrations of the relatives.

Many parents of the missing students accept that their children are not coming back.

Down at the port, boats are bringing more bodies ashore. Families are being taken to a temporary morgue to identify the corpses. I heard one woman sobbing loudly from inside.

With more than 200 bodies still trapped inside the ferry, this recovery operation will last for several days.

The families still waiting are now calling for the operation to be speeded up.