INDONESIA: 100 more survivors of ferry sinking brought to shore

More survivors of Indonesia's ferry disaster were brought ashore on Monday (January 1) at Rembang, in central Java. Almost 200 100 people have been rescued since the vessel sank around midnight on Friday, but hundreds more are still missing. The operational chief of Search And Rescue (SAR) in Semarang, Riyadi, told Reuters by telephone that the Senopati Nusantara was carrying 628 people, including 57 crew, according to the manifest. On Monday morning 11 survivors and two bodies were brought into the harbour at Rembang by a local fishing crew. The survivors were transferred to hospital. Suripah, the sister of one of the survivors, said her brother's six-year-old son was still missing. Thirty-five survivors picked up by fishing boats landed in Tuban in the early hours of Monday, but the authorities stopped journalists from getting near them. Transportation Minister Hatta Rajasa said the Senopati Nusantara was on fire before it sank. He said the Japanese-made 2,178 tonne ship was seaworthy and had a capacity of more than 850 passengers; it was traveling from Kalimantan on Borneo to Semarang in Central Java. Ships and ferry are a popular means of transport in Indonesia, but safety standards are not always enforced and accidents occur fairly often. Another ferry with 51 passengers sank last Thursday and 28 people have been rescued.

ITN Source | January 1, 2007

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