Foul play in sea accident?<\/p>\n
KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: An official here said on Tuesday
\nthat collusion might have led to an accident which killed at
\nleast 15 passengers on two overloaded boats.<\/p>\n
The suspicion of collusion between the boat captains and
\nharbor officials "may be true, and may be untrue," deduced
\nSiahaan, the head of the sea transport section of the provincial
\noffice of the Ministry of Transport.<\/p>\n
"It often happens here especially with the boats which serve
\nisolated, small islands," Siahaan said.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 11 the KM Bunga Coklat 01 and the KM Balibis 02 sunk
\nat separate locations off Bone Strait in rough seas. Death
\nreports vary between 10 and 23 people.<\/p>\n
Five people are missing and Regent Adel Berty admitted the
\ncasualty count might be higher.<\/p>\n
Harbor officials stated the total number of passengers could
\nbe 168, but Adel said the exact figure isn't available.<\/p>\n
The Bunga Coklat, a cargo ship allowed to take a maximum of 50
\npassengers, was carrying at least 100 passengers when it sunk,
\nAntara quoted Siahaan as saying yesterday. The Balibis was
\ncarrying on only 14 people according to the passenger list, but
\nit was later established that 34 passengers were on board when
\nthe tragedy occurred.<\/p>\n
"The additional passengers might have been allowed to board
\nthrough the captain's generosity," said Siahaan. The illegal
\npassengers might have also boarded the boats at a small port
\nwhere no officers were on duty, he said. (anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foul-play-in-sea-accident-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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