100 passengers survive ferry accident off Central Sulawesi<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A ferry carrying around 100 people ran aground on a coral reef
\noff Central Sulawesi province, but all the passengers aboard
\nsurvived the crash, an official said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Kismanto, acting head of the Luwuk seaport in Banggai regency,
\nsaid the accident occurred at around 3 a.m. on Thursday, about
\nthree hours after the 50-ton vessel left the port for the town of
\nSalakan on Peleng island.<\/p>\n
The ill-fated KM Tanjung Raya, traveling in Peleng Strait off
\nCentral Sulawesi, hit a coral reef as it arrived at a beach near
\nNipah village in Lamala subdistrict, he told Antara.<\/p>\n
The passengers on board the ship and the crew members managed
\nto escape without injury, Kismanto added.<\/p>\n
Many of the panicked passengers jumped overboard and swam to
\nNipah beach, around 1.5 kilometers from the scene, the news
\nagency reported.<\/p>\n
Usman Yabi, one of the survivors, told Antara that he escaped
\nthe crash after he and dozens of other passengers decided to wait
\nfor the vessel, after the engine had died, to become unstuck,
\nafter which it sailed to the beach.<\/p>\n
Kismanto said he received information on the accident from the
\nLamala subdistrict head, who reported no casualties or injuries.<\/p>\n
\"But we are still verifying the report in the field because
\nthere is a possibility that several people may not have been
\nincluded on the passenger list aboard the ferry and may have
\ndrowned,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The cause of the accident was not clear.<\/p>\n
Boating accidents, involving ferries and cargo ships, are
\ncommon throughout the archipelago, where a lot of traveling is
\ndone by boat and safety precautions are often ignored.<\/p>\n
Dozens of incidents in recent years have killed hundreds of
\npassengers.<\/p>",
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