Five fishermen feared drowned

PALANGKA RAYA, Central Kalimantan: Authorities here are continuing their search for five missing local fishermen whose boat was allegedly burned by a group of foreign fishermen on March 19.

"With the help of local fishermen, we are continuing to search along the Kuala Pembuang coast in East Kotawaringin district," said provincial police chief Lt. Col. Ade Sudarna.

"We aren't sure whether those who burned the boat were Thais or not, but they were surely foreign fishermen," he said as quoted by Antara on Saturday.

The attack occurred about 50 kilometers off the Kuala Pembuang coast.

One fisherman, Syahminin, survived the attack and remains the sole witness to the incident.

The other five -- Jallaluddin, Junaidi, Jumadi, Sabrani and Ijun -- are feared to have drowned.

Syahminin said the motive of the foreign fishermen-arsonists was not clear.

"It seemed that they did not intend to pirate, but only to eliminate eyewitnesses of what they were doing -- fishing illegally in Indonesian waters with large trawlers," he said.

According to Sudarna, Central Kalimantan waters, especially in West and East Kotawaringin districts, are a favored place for illegal fishing among Thai fishermen.