South Korea ferry children were steps from safety - prosecutor

South Korean rescue workers operate where the capsized passenger ship Sewol sank, as fishing boats emit light during the night rescue operation in Jindo April 22, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato

GWANGJU South Korea (Reuters) - Many of the 250 children who drowned when a South Korean ferry sank in April would have survived if the crew had issued a simple order to evacuate to emergency decks just outside their cabins, a prosecutor said on Tuesday.

Fifteen surviving crew of the ferry Sewol, including the ship's captain, are on trial on charges ranging from negligence to homicide after they told passengers to stay put in their cabins before abandoning the sharply listing vessel.