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)