MOKPO, South Korea—Prosecutors arrested the captain and two other crew members of the sunken South Korean ferry late Friday evening, as one of the crew confirmed accounts that the captain, 69-year-old Lee Jun-seok, was among the first to abandon the sinking ship.

The focus on the crew members' final actions came after a third day of frustration, confusion and tragedy that on Friday brought no new breakthroughs in attempts to rescue the nearly 300 passengers who remain missing since the ferryboat Sewol sank on Wednesday.

...