20 bodies found from boat accident
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)