Number of dead in Ambon ship disaster rises to 41

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)