Hopes dim as death toll rises

Hopes dim as death toll rises

JAKARTA (JP): Hopes of finding more survivors from this weekend's ship accident off Aceh are fading as only one person was found alive yesterday, a search and rescue official in Aceh said.

Col. Umri of the Navy said yesterday evening that the massive search and rescue operation had only turned up two more dead bodies and one survivor yesterday.

As of yesterday evening, 54 people had been found dead, 47 alive and more than 100 of the estimated 210 people on board of the ill-fated KPM Gurita were still missing in the rough seas.

The 31-meter-long, eight-meter-wide KPM Gurita, in operation since 1987, sank about 4 miles off Sabang Island's Balohan port on Friday night. According to the manifest, it was carrying 210 passengers, 16 crew members, 80 tons of cement, 14 tons of foodstuffs and 30 vehicles.

Lukman M. Nur, a search and rescue official from the Sabang municipality office, said there are different accounts regarding the number of people on board as well as those already found, dead or alive.

Figures at his command post showed yesterday that the number of fatalities was 51 and that 40 had survived. "We have different data coming in," he told the Post.

Umri said search and rescue workers found the bodies of a German and an Irish woman he respectively identified as Manuela Schmidt and Margaret (no last name known).

"Five of the 11 foreigners registered in the manifest have been found alive," Umri told the Post by telephone from Sabang yesterday.

The ferry was on its way from Malahayati, Aceh, to the port of Balohan on Sabang Island.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, though government officials speculate that turbulent weather was to blame. Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, who visited the scene of the accident yesterday, denied reports that the ferry was overloaded.

Umri said the government has mobilized two helicopters, a Puma light plane, three warships and 17 boats for the search operation. Dozens of fishermen are also involved, he added.

"High waves have prevented smaller ships and boats from taking part in the operation," he said. "That's why we're using warships."

Almost all of the survivors accommodated at the Sabang hospital have returned home, he said.

Lukman identified the foreign survivors as Steven Nicholson (British), Caroline Steven (British), Pieter Breman (German), Margareth (American) and Wang Sung (Taiwan).

Meanwhile, minister Haryanto was quoted by Antara as saying that the government will soon replace the 16-year-old sunken ferry with a KPM Cucut, which has a capacity of at least 400 passengers.

He insisted that the Japanese-made KPM Gurita was not overloaded when it sank in the 300-meter-deep sea shortly before it was scheduled to anchor.

"Under certain conditions, a ferry is allowed to carry up to 20 percent more of its stated capacity. During Idul Fitri holidays, they are allowed to carry 50 percent more than their stated capacity," he said. (pan)