He was searching for 40 people who are still missing since the disaster.

The man was pulled to the surface by fellow divers after losing consciousness at the site where the Sewol sank on April 16 and was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead

At least 260 people have been confirmed dead and government and civilian divers are still trying to find the remaining bodies.

So far, 19 people have been arrested in the investigation, 15 of them crew members accused of abandoning passengers.

An executive with ties to the shipping company Chonghaejin was also arrested on suspicion of malpractice related to company finances.

Only 174 of the 476 recorded passengers survived, including 22 of the 29 crew members.