Five fishermen feared drowned

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.