Number of dead in Ambon ship disaster rises to 41

AMBON, Maluku (JP): A joint rescue team found on Monday four more bodies of passengers of the Masnait, which sank off Ambon island on Sunday.

The discovery brought the death toll so far to 41.

Two of the corpses were located floating close to Haruku island in central Maluku, while the other two were drifting between Tanjung Tial and Tanjung Hutumuri, the area where huge waves overwhelmed the ship.

Governor Saleh Latuconsina said rescue operations would continue as dozens of people, including the ship's crew, remained missing.

"We haven't set a deadline for calling off the search. In the meantime, efforts to locate the victims will continue and will involve at least 13 Navy and civilian ships," Latuconsina said.

Acting chief of Ambon Port Beny Nikijuluw said two Navy battleships -- the KRI Teluk Berau and the KRI Teluk Sampit -- a helicopter, speed boats and Water Police vessels were searching the waters around Ambon islands.

The search resumed on Monday after it was halted on Sunday evening due to heavy rain and a lack of equipment and manpower.

Rescue workers at Paso Church at Teluk Ambon Baguala district, about 10 kilometers east of here, buried an unidentified female body on Monday.

"We had no other choice as nobody had claimed the remains. We will keep the records of all unidentified victims just in case their families look for them," a rescue worker said.

Local fishermen managed to pick up 85 survivors.

They said the ferry had embarked on a six-hour voyage to Waipirit on Seram island from Ambon's Gudang Arang Port on Saturday night. However, it was forced to return when water started to swamp its bows due to overloading.

The trip resumed early on Sunday after three trucks had been unloaded.

According to the ship's records, 62 passengers and 12 crew were on board, but officials suspect the presence of unlisted passengers who paid for their passage after they had boarded. The boat was also carrying 40 tons of cement, 20 tons of fertilizers and four vehicles when it overturned.

An overcrowded passenger ship, the Arta Rimba, sank off the West Kalimantan coast in February last year, claiming the lives of 332 people and leaving only 20 survivors. In one of Indonesia's worst accidents in 1996, 338 people died after the Gurita sank in Sabang waters off Aceh. (49/edt)