The murder trial of 15 crew members in the sinking South Korean ferry Sewol has opened. The trial began on Tuesday in the southern city of Gwangju.

Captain Lee Joon-Seok and three senior crew members are accused of "homicide through willful negligence", a charge that falls between first-degree murder and manslaughter, but still carries the death penalty.

Eleven other members of the crew are being charged with lesser charges of criminal negligence.

The packed courtroom included grieving relatives of some of the 292 confirmed victims of the April 16 tragedy.

The Sewol was carrying 476 passengers, including 325 high school students on a school trip. Twelve people from the ship are still unaccounted for, as divers continue to search the submerged vessel for bodies.