Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has sent a message of condolence to South Korean President Park Geun-hye on the passenger ferry accident that took place off the southern resort island of Jeju, President's Office said on Friday.

In his message, Rajapaksa, while conveying the heartfelt and profound condolences of the government and the people of Sri Lanka to his South Korean counterpart, has expressed confidence that with the characteristic courage and fortitude of the Korean people, they will be able to overcome their sorrow.

South Korean salvage crews brought three large cranes to the site of the sunken ferry on Friday in a bid to lift the overturned vessel, as the death toll rose to 28 and the search for the 271 missing passengers continued, media reported.

The arrival of the cranes came as a government investigation found that a third mate, not the captain, was at the helm when the ferry capsized Wednesday morning.

The new findings are likely to ratchet up the emotions for family members of the ferry's 475 passengers, which included 325 high-school students from Danwon High School in Ansan, a suburb of Seoul.