Residents rampage over late rescue plan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of residents of the Merauke regency,
\nIrian Jaya, ran amok on Thursday in response to the slow rescue
\noperation to search and rescue the victims of the sunken KM Bimas
\nRaya II ferry, which sank in the Arafura sea off the regency on
\nMonday evening.<\/p>\n
Antara reported from Merauke that mobs damaged and burned
\ngovernment buildings, houses and a market, paralyzing the
\neconomic and social activities of the city.<\/p>\n
A number of angry residents said they regretted the rescue
\nworkers' slow action in locating the victims.<\/p>\n
\"We expected the rescue workers to immediately take the
\nvictims to Merauke to let relatives of the passengers obtain
\ninstant information of the passengers' fate,\" one of the
\nresidents said.<\/p>\n
The KM Bimas Raya II sank on its way back to Merauke seaport
\nfrom its route along the rivers in the eastern part of Irian
\nJaya. Some 300 passengers were reportedly on board, while only 35
\nof them had been rescued from the sinking ship.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Merauke Military District Lt. Col. Udin said
\nthree of the victims were found dead, floating in the sea.<\/p>\n
An officer at Merauke's Search and Rescue office said on
\nThursday that the authorities were yet to determine the cause of
\nthe incident.<\/p>\n
\"Probably because of overcapacity and leakages at the bottom
\nof the ship,\" the officer, who requested anonymity, said.<\/p>\n
He said rescue operations were continuing under the guidance
\nof a military helicopter.<\/p>\n
Earlier, at noon on Wednesday, the angry residents who were
\ndissatisfied with the information provided by the rescue
\nauthorities, staged a protest at the local legislative council,
\ndemanding immediate rescue of the victims. They later started
\ndamaging and burning houses, including government buildings.<\/p>\n
The damaged buildings include the Merauke seaport
\nadministrative office, the Merauke Coastal Guard office, the
\nMerauke's Logistics Agency (Dolog) office, a number of houses and
\nkiosks surrounding the seaport and the Ampera market. The mobs
\nalso looted kiosks belonging to market traders.<\/p>\n
The home of an Antara journalist and the local Cenderawasih
\nPos daily office were also damaged by the mobs.<\/p>\n
Paralyzed<\/p>\n
The two-day unrest paralyzed the city, sending city residents
\nhome from work. They chose to stay at home in the absence of
\npublic transportation in the city as the only means of
\ntransportation were police and military trucks.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, fishing boats and cargo ships dropped anchors off
\nthe seaport to avoid the mobs after rumors said that they would
\nextend their actions by burning the ships and boats docked at the
\nseaport.<\/p>\n
The situation remained tense as of Thursday afternoon, while
\ndozens of police and military officers stood guard at strategic
\nlocations, such as banks and offices of the State Electricity
\nCompany PT PLN, the State Oil and Gas Company PT Pertamina and
\nthe State Telecommunication Company PT Telkom.(eba\/imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/residents-rampage-over-late-rescue-plan-1447893297",
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