Kim Hjelmgaard

USA TODAY

Prosecutors in South Korea on Monday demanded the death penalty for the captain of the ferry that sank in April, killing more than 300 people, Yonhap news agency reported .

The sinking is one of South Korea's deadliest disasters and caused nationwide grief and fury because many of those killed were schoolchildren.

Yonhap said prosecutors also requested that the Gwangju District Court issue life sentences to three other crew members tasked with navigating the ship on charges that they were negligent and failed to protect passengers when the ferry was sinking.

The court said it couldn't immediately confirm the report that lawyers want ferry captain Lee Joon-seok to be sentenced to death. Lee has apologized for abandoning passengers, but says he didn't know his action would lead to the mass deaths.

In a video taken by the coast guard on the day of the sinking, he was seen escaping the ferry in his underwear to a rescue boat while many passengers were still on the sinking ship.

Authorities blame overloading of cargo, improper storage, untimely rescue efforts and other negligence for the incident that left 304 people dead.

Contributing: Associated Press