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The captain and three other crew members of the ferry that sank off South Korea last month have been indicted on charges of manslaughter through gross negligence.

Captain Lee Joon-seok, the chief engineer and the chief and second mates were among the first to be rescued when the ferry Sewol began to capsize during a routine trip from the port of Incheon, west of Seoul, to the holiday island of Jeju.

Investigators say the four were among the first to be rescued from the 6,825-ton ferry and that they boarded Coast Guard vessels without attempting to evacuate hundreds of passengers.

Of the 476 people aboard the Sewol, 281 have been confirmed dead and 23 remain unaccounted for, making the disaster one of the worst in South Korean maritime history. The majority of the dead were students on a school trip.

Lee Joon-seok arriving at a court in Mokpo last month (REUTERS)

If Lee and the others who have been charged are convicted, they face life in prison, Yonhap News reported.

Yoo Byung-aeon, the owner of Chonghaejin Marine, the operator of the ferry, is due to appear for questioning on Friday but has gone into hiding with his four children, who also hold posts in his companies.

There are reports that two of his children have managed to flee to Mexico, while prosecutors have put Yoo Dae-Gyun, his 44-year-old son, on the official most-wanted list after he failed to reply to a summons for questioning.

South Korean rescue helicopters fly over the sinking passenger ship (AP)

Authorities told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper that they fear he may attempt to leave the country and that surveillance has been stepped up at the country's ports.

"We are not talking about a petty criminal, but a man who is the son of a religious leader, a renowned artist and a major shareholder in multiple businesses," a prosecution spokesman said. "He just fled immediately after being summoned for questioning."

Prosecutors are also attempting to enter the grounds of a church that belongs to The Salvation Sect, a cult set up by Yoo Byung-aeon, in the town of Anseong.

Hundreds of members of the cult have blockaded the entrance to the church and deny that Yoo is at the facility. The sect claims that prosecutors are infringing their religious freedom and has vowed to start a "religious crusade" if the authorities use force to enter their church.