Men survive 10-day sea ordeal

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: Two men landed at Obel-Obel beach in West Lombok on Tuesday, having survived 10 days in the open sea, Antara reported.

The two endured their ordeal by holding onto a piece of wood after their motorboat sank in the strait of Lombok, the head of the local transportation office, Hidayat, said here on Wednesday. The 40-kilometer strait separates the islands of Bali and Lombok.

The two survivors are being treated at a local village head's house. They have yet to be identified as they are still too weak to speak.

It is not clear how they arrived on shore. The two men are believed to have been passengers on the Adi Jaya motorboat, bound from Buton island for Bali, that sank on Dec. 6, Hidayat said. (sur)