52 still missing in Morotai

52 still missing in Morotai

JAKARTA (JP): Fifty two people are still missing after a motorized sailing boat sank off the Morotai Island in Maluku on Dec. 28, Antara reported yesterday.

The Navy and Search and Rescue Agency are still looking out for the shipwrecked, although officials are resigned to the fact that most have probably drowned and possibly dragged out to the Pacific Ocean, the news agency said.

The wreckage of the seven-ton Nani Agriani with its three-ton cargo has been found on the seabed between 400 and 600 meters below the surface, according to district chief Salim Ali.

Rescue workers only managed to find five bodies, while 32 people on board were rescued. The boat was sailing from Tobelo to a number of coastal villages in the Morotai Utara district. (emb)