Four students killed, five missing as boat capsizes<\/p>\n
Kasparman
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nPadang, West Sumatra<\/p>\n
At least four students were killed and five others were still
\nmissing and feared dead after a Sunday morning boating accident
\nin a rain-swollen river near Padang, West Sumatra, officials and
\nresidents said.<\/p>\n
Three other people survived the accident that occurred as a
\nfishing boat carrying the 12 victims, all students from a
\nnursing academy, capsized in the Muara Anai river.<\/p>\n
The tragedy occurred around 7:30 a.m. but as of Sunday
\nevening, rescuers had not yet found the five missing students.<\/p>\n
The group had hired the boat from local fisherman Ujang, 35,
\nfor recreation along the river, located near the Lubuk Buaya
\nestuary in Central Koto subdistrict, villagers said.<\/p>\n
But after cruising around for about 30 minutes, the boat
\ncapsized amid strong currents and unexpected rapids in the four-
\nmeter deep river, they added. The victims reportedly planned to
\ngo the nearby White Sand Beach resort.<\/p>\n
\"They (the students) had no experience with boats, so they
\ncould not control it when hit by the turbulence,\" Capt. Sutrisno
\nAbubakar of the Padang military command, a rescue member, told
\njournalists.<\/p>\n
The fatalities were identified as Tri Yuliana, Yefri Nelli,
\nIbrahim and Mimi Suspita, all 21. Their bodies were found
\nfloating by rescuers at around 7:45 a.m. in a location some one
\nkilometer from where they boarded the boat.<\/p>\n
The four bodies were taken to the M. Djamil General Hospital
\nin Padang for an autopsy.<\/p>\n
Their five missing colleagues were identified as Alex
\nSuherwadi, 24, Zulmi Hendra, 21, Desi Lusiawati, 22, Junaidah
\nKada, 20, and Een, 18, while the three others rescued alive were
\nRoskian, 24, Aria Anwar, 21 and Silvia Sandra, 21.<\/p>\n
The survivors are being treated at the M. Djamil hospital.<\/p>\n
Sutrisno said the rescuers combed the river in search of the
\nfive missing, but faced difficulties as the river was swollen
\nwith recent rainwater and runoff from upland areas in North
\nSumatra.<\/p>\n
The murky waters and riverbank mangrove forest also hampered
\nthe rescue efforts involving 20 personnel from the water and air
\nunit from Bungus Teluk Kabung, 10 from the Padang district
\nmilitary command, 15 from a local fire team and 15 from the
\nnational search and rescue agency, he added.<\/p>\n
\"But we will continue to look for the missing victims until an
\norder is issued to halt it,\" Sutrisno said.<\/p>\n
Local authorities were probing the cause of the accident.
\nHowever, it was believed that the small boat was overloaded and
\nnone of the students was wearing a life jacket. It was not clear
\nwhat the maximum capacity of the boat was.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/four-students-killed-five-missing-as-boat-capsizes-1447893297",
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