Five die in boat accident in Ambon
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
At least five people died and one person was missing when a boat capsized in the waters off Kayeli Bay in Buru regency, Ambon, on Tuesday.
At the time of the accident, which took place near Batu Jungku village in Batabual district, the Dewi Yul interisland boat was reportedly carrying about 30 passengers.
The dead were identified as Narbiah Umanielo, 38, Wa Mihi Buton, 46, Wa Ramu, 40, Siani Buton, 2, and Harsono, 1.
Buru Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bambang Nadi Widodo confirmed the accident. However, the police have not confirmed the number of passengers on board the boat at the time of the accident.
"The bodies of the dead were returned to their families on Wednesday and we still searching for missing victims," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
The secretary of the United Development Party (PPP) in Buru regency, Muhamad Assagaf, who was in Batu Jungku village when the accident took place, said four of the boat's engines were damaged when it left to Wamsisi village in Waisama district.
"Maybe because the engines were damaged the boat sank after being repeatedly hit by waves in bad weather," Muhamad speculated.
Meanwhile, a Chinese-flagged shipping vessel, the MV Fu Yuan Yu F-66, that is the subject of a legal case at the Ambon District Court, is in danger of sinking in the waters off Teluk Dalam in Ambon.
The ship was damaged in an unexplained explosion on Aug. 15 in the Navy's main harbor in Ambon. The ship, which was carrying 1,662 tonnes of fish, was moved to its current location after the explosion.
The Chinese vessel was impounded and its 31 crew members, all Chinese citizens, detained for allegedly engaging in illegal fishing in the Arafura Sea.
An assistant in the special crimes unit at the Maluku Prosecutor's Office, Zainul Arifin Wijaya, said the illegal fishing case was being heard by the court, and that the police were investigating the explosion that damaged the vessel.
"The ship, after being impounded by the Navy, is being processed by the court, while the explosion has already been reported to the Maluku Police," Zainul said on Wednesday.
However, an officer at the Maluku Police, Sr. Comr. Bambang Hermanu, said the vessel was under the authority of the prosecutor's office and the Navy and the police could do little to investigate the explosion.
"We will still try and investigate the source of the explosion. We have checked (the ship's) condition, maybe there is something we can do to help. The ship is under the authority of the prosecutor's office and the Navy so we can only assist in this case," Bambang said.