One killed and 11 missing in ferry sinking off Bintan

JAKARTA (JP): One child died and eleven other passengers are missing after a ferry sank off Bintan Island, in Riau province, Saturday afternoon, an official at Telaga Punggur port on Batam said.

Ramli Samad was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday that the MV Sentosa 10 was carrying 92 passengers, according to the liner manifest, and was en route from Telaga Punggur to Tanjung Pinang on Bintan when it sank.

Rescuers saved 91 people plus the five crew members and the ship's captain Supoyo. However eleven people were reported missing by relatives following the accident.

"Some people came here and claimed that their family members were also on the ship," Ramli said.

The ferry's capacity was 150 people; it was operated by P.T. Liba Marindo.

When the accident took place, Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto was in Batam meeting with directors of state- owned companies under his ministry, Antara reported.

The child who died was three-year-old Andi, according to Tanjung Pinang navy base officer Eri Sulistiono. An officer at Telaga Punggur port said the child died of exhaustion.

Miswadi, an officer with the Tanjung Pinang Search and Rescue squad, said yesterday that rescue workers were still searching for other victims. The team stopped searching at 5 p.m. yesterday due to poor weather and heavy seas.

The ferry has not yet been found. Miswadi said it might have after it sank in the nine-meter deep water.

The survivors of the accident were taken to hospitals in Tanjung Pinang and Batam. Supoyo and his crew members, however, disappeared, according to Ramli, making it difficult for the authorities to obtain information about why the accident occurred.

The news agency reported that some passengers said that about 15 minutes after the ferry left Batam, the crew ordered the passengers to move to the stern. The ferry's bows then rose out of the water as the vessel slowly sank.

Some of the passengers jumped into the sea, while others scrambled for life buoys. Supoyo, however, had time to call for help through a walkie-talkie. (05)