47 people feared dead after ship founders
47 people feared dead after ship founders
MAJENE, South Sulawesi (JP): As many as 47 people were missing
and feared dead after a passenger ship sank off Majene, some 300
kilometers south of the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar on
Sunday, Majene port administrator Albar Yahya said on Friday.
"I reported the incident to the Makassar Search and Rescue
head office on May 30, but I have received no response so far and
there have been no efforts to search for passengers," Albar said,
adding that the port had no adequate equipment to search for
missing people.
According to Albar, the KM Restu Illahi, which left Palipi
port at about 6 p.m. on Saturday, sank at about midnight on
Sunday, some 60 miles off Palipi.
The port of Palipi is located some 38 kilometers north of the
town of Majene in the regency of Majene, which has a larger port.
Chief of Palipi port task force Muhammad Nasir said that the
ship was believed to have hit a flotilla of logs following huge
waves at Makassar Bay.
Timber companies operating outside Java usually transport logs
from one area to another by floating them in the sea or major
rivers.
Nasir said that the ship, serving the Majene to Kotabaru
(South Kalimantan) route, was carrying 84 passengers, including
seven children and nine crew members. Fifty-four of the
passengers were male.
KM Restu Illahi is one of the ships serving the Majene to
Kotabaru (South Kalimantan) route everyday. It usually takes 18
hours for a vessel to cover the route.
"Five of the survivors, including captain Abdul Rahman and
another crew member identified as Damri, were found by Palipi
fishermen today, while the other 32 were stranded at Pakbusuang
in the neighboring regency of Polmas on Thursday. Local fishermen
helped them return to their homes," Nasir said on Friday.
One of the survivors stranded at Polmas reported the accident
to Majene port authorities, Albar said.
The four-ton passenger ship was designed to carry 100 people,
Albar said. "And according to shipping documents there were 84
passengers and nine crew members onboard when the ship left the
port."
Most of the passengers were inter-island merchants who were
onboard along with their merchandise, such as coconut and rice.
(27/sur)