Tue, 06 Feb 2001

20 bodies found from boat accident

JAKARTA (JP): Rescue workers and locals have stepped up the search for the passengers of the PLM Oleo Putra II which sank off Jailolo in North Maluku, finding a total of 20 bodies on Monday, officials said.

"Local fishermen and rescue workers are trying to locate more victims," North Maluku Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Zulkarnain told The Jakarta Post from Ternate in North Maluku.

"We don't know the exact number of people on board as the number of victims is far higher than the number of passengers recorded on the manifest," he said.

At least 20 people were killed and 53 others survived when their boat smashed into rocks in rough seas in the waters off Jailolo, Tanjung Bobo, near Payo village, some 24 kilometers north of Ternate at around 2 a.m. local time on Sunday.

On the official manifest, however, only 30 passengers and 10 crew members were listed. Meanwhile, an unofficial count estimated that there were some 100 people on board when the tragedy occurred.

The wooden-hulled ship was carrying passengers, mostly refugees, and 25 tons of freight -- including food and plywood -- from Bastiong port in the west of North Maluku to Galela district on Halmahera island to the east.

"Most of the passengers were refugees from Tobelo and Galela who wanted to go home to celebrate Idul Adha," he added.

Tobelo and Galela have been hit by some of the worst and bitterest communal clashes in the Malukus, which have been going on for over two years and have claimed no less than 5,000 lives, with around 130,000 refugees having fled their homes.

The officer also said that rough seas and strong tides caused the boat to sink.

"That and the fact that the boat was overloaded are the most likely causes of the accident," Zulkarnain said.

The fatalities, mostly women and children, were found floating in the sea at around 6 a.m. local time on Monday by fishermen passing along Jailolo beach.

The victims were brought to Ternate General Hospital for postmortem examinations.

"Based on the postmortem results, most of the victims died over four hours before their bodies were found on Monday morning," Antara reported quoting Herman, the doctor who conducted the autopsies on Monday.

The victims died by misadventure and there were no marks on their bodies to indicate otherwise, he said.

Maritime accidents are common in Maluku waters, but in some cases sinkings have resulted from battles on the high seas, including gunfights and attacks on passenger vessels by armed raiders.

Officials were still trying to determine how many people were unaccounted for by cross-checking information from families with that supplied by survivors, Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani said.

The traditional 92-ton boat was actually not licensed to carry passengers, Ternate Port Administrator Abdul Karim Tuanaya said.

"Such boats, however, are sometimes permitted to take passengers on board when there are no ferries available," Karim said.

In June of last year, a ferry carrying 492 Christian refugees fleeing North Maluku sank in pounding seas as it was traveling to neighboring North Sulawesi.

Only 11 survivors -- one of whom later died -- were found adrift in the ocean three days later hanging on to debris from the doomed ferry, which was carrying twice its legal passenger payload. (edt)