- NEW: Loosely tied goods helped cause the ship to capsize, investigators say
- NEW: Ferry carried more than twice the cargo weight it was allowed, police say
- Diver dies during recovery operation Tuesday
- Not including the diver, the disaster's death toll rises to 267
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- The South Korean ferry disaster that killed more than 260 people last month was caused in part by excessive cargo and a failure to tie that cargo down properly, the joint police and prosecuting team investigating the disaster said Tuesday.
It marked the first time South Korean investigators said what they believe led to the April 16 sinking of the ferry Sewol, which was carrying 467 passengers and crew -- including more than 300 high school students on a field trip -- when it capsized.
Investigators said they've indicted four employees of the ferry's owner, Cheonghaejin Marine Co., in the last two weeks, including a senior executive Tuesday. Details about the charges weren't immediately available.
Authorities took aim at the cargo Tuesday, saying its weight was more than double the ship's limit.
The cargo wasn't tied properly -- and the loosely tied goods helped cause the ship to capsize, senior prosecutor Yang Joong-jin said.
Ferry victim's haunting cry for mom 
Ferry survivors honor lost classmates 
First ship on scene saw no evacuation 
A girl in Seoul, South Korea, holds a candle during a service paying tribute to the victims of the sunken ferry Sewol on Wednesday, April 30. More than 200 bodies have been found and nearly 100 people remain missing after the ferry sank April 16 off South Korea's southwest coast. 
People pay tribute to victims at a memorial altar in Ansan, South Korea, on Tuesday, April 29. 
A police officer holds an umbrella for a relative of a missing ferry passenger Monday, April 28, in Jindo, South Korea. 
South Korean Buddhists carry lanterns in a parade in Seoul on Saturday, April 26, to honor the memory of the dead and the safe return of the missing. 
Divers search for people in the waters near Jindo on April 26. 
People in Ansan attend a memorial for the victims on April 26. 
A diver jumps into the sea near the sunken ferry on Friday, April 25. 
A relative of a passenger weeps while waiting for news of his missing loved one at a port in Jindo on April 25. 
People attend a memorial for the victims at the Olympic Memorial Hall in Ansan on Thursday, April 24. 
Yellow ribbons honoring the victims flap in the wind as a hearse carrying a victim's body leaves Danwon High School in Ansan on April 24. Most of the people on board the ferry were high school students on their way to the resort island of Jeju. 
People attend a memorial for the victims at Olympic Memorial Hall in Ansan. 
Search personnel dive into the sea on Wednesday, April 23. 
Flares light up the search area on Tuesday, April 22. 
The sun sets over the site of the sunken ferry on April 22. 
A relative of a ferry passenger prays as she waits for news in Jindo on April 22. 
The search for victims continues April 22 in the waters of the Yellow Sea. 
Rescue workers in Jindo carry the body of a passenger on Monday, April 21. 
Divers jump into the water on April 21 to search for passengers near the buoys that mark the site of the sunken ferry. 
A relative of a passenger looks at the lists of the dead on April 21. 
Search operations continue as flares illuminate the scene near Jindo on Sunday, April 20. 
Relatives of missing passengers grieve April 20 in Jindo. 
Relatives of passengers look out at the sea from Jindo on April 20. 
A relative of a missing passenger struggles with a policeman as he tries to march toward the presidential house in Jindo on April 20 to protest the government's rescue operation. 
Police officers in Jindo stand guard Saturday, April 19, to prevent relatives of the ferry's missing passengers from jumping in the water. Some relatives said they will swim to the shipwreck site and find their missing family members by themselves. 
Family members of missing passengers hug as they await news of their missing relatives at Jindo Gymnasium on April 19. 
South Korean Navy Ship Salvage Unit members prepare to salvage the sunken ferry and search for missing people on April 19. 
Oil from the sunken ferry appears near the wreckage site on April 19. 
Lee Joon Suk, the captain of the Sewol, is escorted to the court that issued his arrest warrant Friday, April 18, in Mokpo, South Korea. 
Offshore cranes wait near buoys that mark the location of the sunken ferry on April 18. 
A U.S. helicopter takes off from the flight deck of the USS Bonhomme Richard during search-and-rescue operations on April 18. 
A woman cries as she waits for news on missing passengers April 18 in Jindo. 
A searchlight illuminates the capsized ferry on Thursday, April 17. 
The ship's captain, Lee Joon Suk, arrives at the Mokpo Police Station in Mokpo on April 17. His head and face covered, he broke down in tears when reporters asked whether he had anything to say. 
A woman cries during a candlelight vigil at Danwon High School in Ansan, South Korea, on April 17. 
Rescue personnel dive April 17 during search operations. 
Family members of passengers aboard the sunken ferry gather at a gymnasium in Jindo on April 17. 
The body of a victim is moved at a hospital in Mokpo on April 17. 
Relatives of a passenger cry at a port in Jindo on April 17 as they wait for news on the rescue operation. 
South Korean coast guard members and rescue teams search for passengers at the site of the sunken ferry on April 17. 
A relative of a passenger cries as she waits for news on Wednesday, April 16. 
Rescue teams and fishing boats try to rescue passengers on April 16. 
Relatives check a list of survivors April 16 in Jindo. 
Relatives of missing ferry passengers wait for news at a gym in Jindo. 
Rescue crews attempt to save passengers from the ferry on April 16. 
A South Korean coast guard helicopter lifts passengers off the vessel on April 16. 
Police and rescue teams carry a passenger at the port in Jindo on April 16. 
A relative waits for a missing loved one at the port in Jindo. 
Parents at Danwon High School search for names of their children among the list of survivors. Ansan is a suburb of Seoul, the South Korean capital. 
Helicopters hover over the ferry as rescue operations continue April 16. 
A man in Seoul watches a news broadcast about the sinking vessel. 
Officials escort rescued passengers April 16 in Jindo. 
A passenger is helped onto a rescue boat on April 16. 
A passenger is rescued from the sinking ship on April 16. 
Photos: South Korean ferry sinks "The lashing devices that should have held cargo goods steady were loose, and some of the crew members did not even know" how to use them correctly, Yang said.
Investigators had been probing the possibility the ship overturned because cargo shifted and forced the ship off balance.
At least 268 people died in the disaster, which happened while the ferry was traveling from Incheon to the resort island of Jeju, off South Korea's southwestern coast. Thirty-four people still are unaccounted for, according to the country's coast guard.
Officials: Firm got $2.9 million for extra cargo since '13
Tuesday's news came nearly a week after South Korean authorities searched Cheonghaejin Marine's offices as part of a criminal investigation.
This trip wasn't the first time the ferry had excess cargo, the joint investigation team said Tuesday.
Since the Sewol began the Incheon-Jeju route in March 2013, the ferry carried excess cargo 139 times, investigators said.
Cheonghaejin Marine earned an extra 62 million South Korean won ($62,000) for the excess cargo on the April 16 voyage, and nearly 3 billion South Korean won ($2.9 million) in extra profit for all of the excess cargo that the ferry carried since March 2013, investigators said.
Diver dies as search for bodies continues
The grim task of retrieving bodies from the sunken ferry was dealt a painful blow Tuesday when an experienced diver lost consciousness and died.
But the nearly 130 divers continued combing the ship despite the loss of their colleague, identified as Lee. His full name was not provided.
Five minutes into his dive, he apparently had problems with his oxygen supply.
"By the time his colleagues went to save him, Lee was unconscious and unable to breathe by himself," government spokesman Koh Myung-suk said.
Lee had been diving for 30 years, officials said.
Since the first day when many escaped the sinking ship, no one has been found alive.
Over the weekend, South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited the port where the rescue operation is based to console families and encourage divers.
Corralling the debris has been difficult for search teams.
Mattresses and clothing from the ship have been found up to 9 miles (15 kilometers) away from the accident site, said Park Seung-ki, a spokesman for the rescue operation.
Large stow and trawler nets will be set up around the sunken ship to catch items that may float away, he said. At the same time, some three dozen ships will be clearing an oil spill from the ferry, which is threatening the livelihood of the local fishermen.
Read: South Korean ferry survivors return to school after classmates' deaths
Read: The images that shocked a nation
Journalist Stella Kim reported from Seoul; CNN's Jason Hanna and Ed Payne wrote in Atlanta
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