Australian navy saves RI crew

MERAUKE, Irian Jaya: An Australian navy search and rescue team rescued seven crew members of an Indonesian ship, KM Darindo, which sank in Australian waters last week.

A navy spokesman in Merauke said on Sunday that the ship was on the way from Merauke to Daru, in Papua New Guinea, when it was hit by a huge storm. A navy search and rescue plane managed to save the crew members and took them to nearby Thursday Island. The ship later sank.

The ship was carrying 500 sacks of sand, 100 sacks of cement and 170 boxes of ceramics for the construction of a government office in the province of Daru. (34)