Missing boat found, all safe in S. Sulawesi

Missing boat found, all safe in S. Sulawesi

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Searchers have found a missing ship that was reported missing in
eastern Indonesian waters and rescued all 52 people aboard,
including eight crew members.

The KM Untung Jaya, which was also carrying tons of freight,
was found in the Banda Sea at around 3 p.m. on Sunday, where it
had gone missing after encountering bad weather on Saturday
night.

All of the vessel's passengers were evacuated safely to nearby
Mandati port on Wanci Island, Southeast Sulawesi province, Antara
reported.

Rocky Asikin, the director of the search and rescue (SAR)
service in the Southeast Sulawesi capital of Kendari, was quoted
as saying the boat had been adrift since it developed engine
trouble.

It was found some 60 miles (90 kilometers) from the island of
Wanci, and 130 miles from Kendari port, after two naval vessels
and a Nomad Alpha aircraft from the neighboring province of
Maluku had been called in to help in the search, he said.

Rocky said all the victims, including six children, had been
safely returned to their families.

He said the vessel had run into a storm on Thursday while
sailing from Taliabo Port in North Maluku to Wangi-Wangi.

It then developed engine trouble on Saturday night.

Three days ago, two other ships -- the KM Aswin Jaya and KM
Berkat 03 -- also developed engine trouble after encountering bad
weather in the waters off Southeast Sulawesi.

Meanwhile on Thursday, a vessel with a maximum capacity of 75
people but carrying almost 180 passengers capsized off the coast
of North Sulawesi province, leaving 22 people dead and four
others missing.

Victor Matondang, a senior Talaud regency government official,
said another body had been found on Saturday, bringing the death
toll to 22.

The ferry, packed with 180 wedding guests, sank on its way
from Meronge subdistrict on Lirung island to Damau subdistrict on
Kabaruan island. The ferry was licensed to carry a maximum of 75
passengers.

The Talaud administration had promised to give Rp 1 million in
aid to the families of those who perished in the accident. The
regental government will also pay the medical expenses of those
injured in the accident.

Shipping accidents are common in Indonesia, a vast archipelago
of some 17,000 islands, where much traveling is done by sea.
Safety regulations, however, are poorly enforced and ships are
frequently overcrowded.