7 more bodies found in Papua sinking

7 more bodies found in Papua sinking

JAYAPURA, Papua: Residents and a search and rescue team found seven more bodies in the sea on Tuesday, bringing the number of discovered after the Boven Digoel ship accident to 74. Over 100 others were still listed as missing, while only 15 of approximately 200 passengers survived when the overloaded ferry capsized nearly two weeks ago.

The seven newest fatalities were found in the waters off of Wambi and Buraka villages in Merauke and all were male. The bodies, which had greatly decomposed, were buried by local residents, according to a statement by the Merauke SAR team. One of the victims was identified as Agus Kandonop.

The Digoel sank on July 7. Although the ship's manifest only stated that the ship was carrying approximately 60 people, witnesses and survivors revealed that the ship had 206 passengers and crew aboard when it sank. -- Antara