20 bodies found from boat accident<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Rescue workers and locals have stepped up the
\nsearch for the passengers of the PLM Oleo Putra II which sank off
\nJailolo in North Maluku, finding a total of 20 bodies on Monday,
\nofficials said.<\/p>\n
\"Local fishermen and rescue workers are trying to locate more
\nvictims,\" North Maluku Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Zulkarnain
\ntold The Jakarta Post from Ternate in North Maluku.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know the exact number of people on board as the
\nnumber of victims is far higher than the number of passengers
\nrecorded on the manifest,\" he said.<\/p>\n
At least 20 people were killed and 53 others survived when
\ntheir boat smashed into rocks in rough seas in the waters off
\nJailolo, Tanjung Bobo, near Payo village, some 24 kilometers
\nnorth of Ternate at around 2 a.m. local time on Sunday.<\/p>\n
On the official manifest, however, only 30 passengers and 10
\ncrew members were listed. Meanwhile, an unofficial count
\nestimated that there were some 100 people on board when the
\ntragedy occurred.<\/p>\n
The wooden-hulled ship was carrying passengers, mostly
\nrefugees, and 25 tons of freight -- including food and plywood --
\nfrom Bastiong port in the west of North Maluku to Galela district
\non Halmahera island to the east.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the passengers were refugees from Tobelo and Galela
\nwho wanted to go home to celebrate Idul Adha,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Tobelo and Galela have been hit by some of the worst and
\nbitterest communal clashes in the Malukus, which have been going
\non for over two years and have claimed no less than 5,000 lives,
\nwith around 130,000 refugees having fled their homes.<\/p>\n
The officer also said that rough seas and strong tides caused
\nthe boat to sink.<\/p>\n
\"That and the fact that the boat was overloaded are the most
\nlikely causes of the accident,\" Zulkarnain said.<\/p>\n
The fatalities, mostly women and children, were found floating
\nin the sea at around 6 a.m. local time on Monday by fishermen
\npassing along Jailolo beach.<\/p>\n
The victims were brought to Ternate General Hospital for
\npostmortem examinations.<\/p>\n
\"Based on the postmortem results, most of the victims died
\nover four hours before their bodies were found on Monday
\nmorning,\" Antara reported quoting Herman, the doctor who
\nconducted the autopsies on Monday.<\/p>\n
The victims died by misadventure and there were no marks on
\ntheir bodies to indicate otherwise, he said.<\/p>\n
Maritime accidents are common in Maluku waters, but in some
\ncases sinkings have resulted from battles on the high seas,
\nincluding gunfights and attacks on passenger vessels by armed
\nraiders.<\/p>\n
Officials were still trying to determine how many people were
\nunaccounted for by cross-checking information from families with
\nthat supplied by survivors, Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman
\nGani said.<\/p>\n
The traditional 92-ton boat was actually not licensed to carry
\npassengers, Ternate Port Administrator Abdul Karim Tuanaya
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Such boats, however, are sometimes permitted to take
\npassengers on board when there are no ferries available,\" Karim
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In June of last year, a ferry carrying 492 Christian refugees
\nfleeing North Maluku sank in pounding seas as it was traveling to
\nneighboring North Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Only 11 survivors -- one of whom later died -- were found
\nadrift in the ocean three days later hanging on to debris from
\nthe doomed ferry, which was carrying twice its legal passenger
\npayload. (edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/20-bodies-found-from-boat-accident-1447893297",
"image": ""
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