Jindo, South Korea: A high school vice principal rescued from a sinking South Korean ferry that sank with hundreds of his students on board has been found dead.

Local police on Jindo island said the body of vice principal Kang Min-Kyu, 52, was found near the gymnasium where relatives of the 268 people still missing from the ferry disaster have been staying.

South Korean Navy rescue teams work near the buoys installed to mark the position of the sunken ferry. Credit:Getty Images

‘‘The precise cause of death is still under investigation,’’ one police official told AFP.

Yonhap news agency cited police as saying he was found hanging from a tree having apparently committed suicide.