Police continue search for boat victims<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Police said yesterday they were
\ncontinuing to search for victims of the ill-fated Peldatari I
\nboat which sank Sunday in Lake Toba, because many people were
\nstill unaccounted for.<\/p>\n
The North Sumatra Police had received reports from 67 people
\nwho believed they had relatives on that boat, Chief Spokesman Lt.
\nCol. Amrin Karim told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The police search focused on streams linking the lake in the
\nbelief that some victims might have drifted there, Amrin said.<\/p>\n
The Search and Rescue agency stopped the search Thursday after
\nfishing 83 bodies out of the lake.<\/p>\n
The boat was carrying far in excess of its capacity when it
\nsank. The exact number of passengers is unknown aboard the boat
\nwhich had been ferrying people home to Samosir Island in the
\nmiddle of the lake after the Lake Toba cultural festival.<\/p>\n
Eighty-six people had survived the tragedy, officials said.<\/p>\n
North Tapanuli Regent T.M.H. Sinaga told Antara yesterday that
\npeople on Samosir would pray and feast in a Indahan Sipaet-paet
\nceremony Monday for mourners and survivors.<\/p>\n
Ashwin Effendi, head of the North Sumatra Office of the
\nMinistry of Transportation, said yesterday that the Peldatari I's
\nskipper, Oppu Sihotang, who is believed to be at large, and his
\nthree assistants were entirely to blame for the accident.<\/p>\n
Ashwin said the boat had sailed without the permission of
\nthe River and Lake Transportation Agency in Tigaraja port. To
\navoid detection, the skipper had made most of the passengers
\nboard outside the port, he added.<\/p>\n
The skipper is believed to have fled.<\/p>\n
Ashwin also ruled out the possibility of foul play on the part
\nof officials at the river and lake transportation agency. Antara
\nreported that Ashwin was responding to speculation that the
\nagency's officials might have made "mistakes" that eventually led
\nto the accident.<\/p>\n
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto had ordered an
\ninvestigation into the reported violations that caused the
\naccident, including overloading and the absence of proper safety
\nequipment. However, there were also reports that said the boat
\nwas leaking.<\/p>\n
The Peldatari accident came on the heels of another ferry
\naccident. The MV Sentosa 10 wooden boat sank off Batam Island on
\nSaturday, killing 12 of its 85 registered passengers. (21\/10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-continue-search-for-boat-victims-1447893297",
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