Hundreds rescued from grounded ferry

JAKARTA (JP): Rescue workers saved on Sunday 210 passengers of the KMP Jatra I ferry bound for Lampung, which ran aground near Harimau island in the Sunda Straits.

An official at Bakauheni port confirmed the accident and told Antara that the vessel ran aground one and a half hours after it departed Merak in Banten at 4:30 a.m. Passengers waited four hours for rescue workers to arrive.

The ferry, owned by the state River and Lake Transportation Company (ASDP), was also carrying 60 vehicles.

All passengers were evacuated and taken to their destination of Bakauheni by speedboat. Their vehicles were being moved to other ships as of Sunday afternoon.

The ferry, on a route stretching 10 nautical miles, was scheduled to arrive in Bakauheni by 6 p.m. at the latest.

Some passengers said those on board panicked when the ship lurched as it ran aground.

The causes of the accident are unknown, but port officials said the tide had subsided when the ferry embarked on its trip.

It is the second such accident to happen over the past few months in the straits separating Java and Sumatra. Another ferry, the KMP Nusa Jaya, ran aground earlier this year, but no fatalities were reported.