Navy warships keep Sabang's economy alive<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Two Navy warships have replaced the sunken ferry
\nGurita in serving the route to and from Sabang to help keep the
\nWeh Island's economy rolling.<\/p>\n
\"We are mobilizing KRI Seulako and KRI Kral to ply the route
\nbetween Banda Aceh and Sabang, pending the arrival of another
\nferry which is now on its way here,\" the commander of the Sabang
\nNaval Base, Lt. Col. Fikri Samaf Guciano, told The Jakarta Post
\nby phone from Sabang, the main town on Weh Island, yesterday.<\/p>\n
Gurita, the only ferry that served the route, sank on Friday
\nwith 210 people on board and dozens of vehicles and tons of
\ncargo. Only 40 people survived; 53 bodies have been found and 117
\nothers are still missing.<\/p>\n
Fikri said the government was dispatching Cucut, a ferry that
\nhas been operating in the Sibolga area off the western coast of
\nNorth Sumatra, to Banda Aceh to replace the Gurita in serving the
\nWeh islanders.<\/p>\n
Cucut, which has a capacity of 400 passengers, is expected to
\narrive today, he said. \"We will terminate the services of the two
\nwarships then,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fikri said each of the two warships could only carry 40
\npassengers. \"We are only taking passengers. We are not taking
\ncargo to ensure unexpected things don't happen,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The warships charge Rp 3,000 from each passenger, the same
\nfare charged by Gurita.<\/p>\n
Fikri said that the search and rescue team yesterday found one
\nmore victim of the sunk ferry near Benggala Island, about 25
\nmiles from the shipwreck site.<\/p>\n
He said that the victim's body was found by the navy warship
\nKRI Siliman.<\/p>\n
However, the team found it difficult to identify the victim
\nbecause the whole body had decomposed, he said.<\/p>\n
The search for possible survivors is being carried out by
\nthree big warships, the KRI Siliman, KRI Rencong, and KRI
\nYohannes. \"The search range has been extended, which small ships
\ncannot cover,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The standard procedure in any search and rescue operation is
\nthat a search operation should be conducted for seven days. The
\nNavy however has said that it is prepared to extend the operation
\nfor more than a week to search for more bodies.<\/p>\n
Officials believe that dozens of people were trapped in the
\nship or in their cars when the Gurita sank.<\/p>\n
The government has launched a full investigation into the
\naccident. Preliminary enquiries suggested that the ship sank
\nafter it ran into rough seas.<\/p>\n
Compensation<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the head of the Banda Aceh office of the state-owned
\nlife insurance company PT Jasa Raharja, Nana Suyatna, said on
\nMonday evening that the company would compensate all victims
\nregistered on the ship's passengers list.<\/p>\n
\"We are ready to compensate the relatives of the dead and
\ninjured victims, as well those still reported missing,\" Nana told
\nthe Antara news agency as saying.<\/p>\n
\"We have completed temporary data collection on 96 victims, by
\ndirectly visiting houses of the victims,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to law, the families of the dead and permanently
\ndisabled victims are entitled to Rp 6 million (US$2,600)
\ncompensation, while an injured victim is entitled to Rp 2.5
\nmillion. Owners of four-wheel vehicles, including jeeps, will get
\nRp 8.5 million, while two-wheel vehicle owners will receive Rp
\n2.5 million.<\/p>\n
The Japanese-built ship sank off Aceh on Friday, during a
\nvoyage to Balohan harbor in Sabang, Weh Island, from Kruengraya
\nin Aceh Besar. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/navy-warships-keep-sabangs-economy-alive-1447893297",
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