One more survivor found after Sumbawa ship incident

One more survivor found after Sumbawa ship incident

Trisna Wahyuni and I.D. Nugroho, Mataram/Surabaya

A senior Naval officer revealed on Wednesday that one of its
personnel survived the capsizing of a ship in waters off the
eastern island of Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province.

With the discovery of the man, the people still missing after
the incident last Friday officially totaled at least three, while
15 others were rescued.

Chief of Ampenan Naval base in West Nusa Tenggara province,
Lt. Col. R. Edi Surjanto, said on Wednesday that the Naval
officer was Supriyadi.

Edi would not go into detail as to where Supriyadi was
discovered, only saying that he was rescued by fishermen, who
took him to Situbondo, East Java province for medical treatment.

Head of Mataram Search and Rescue (SAR) Agency I Gde Budisma
said that the SAR team was still looking for victims of the
incident, assisted by the Naval vessel, KRI Sura.

"The SAR team found only debris, assumed to have been part of
the ship, in waters off Obel-obel, East Lombok," he said.

Officials in Surabaya have said that the cargo ship was manned
by 19 crew members, including the captain.

However, a survivor, Petrus Nongo, who said he was a passenger
on the cargo ship, claimed that there were 30 people aboard,
including 19 crew members.

"I remember there was a mother and baby aboard, and three
other young ladies from Flores, whom I knew. But I have no idea
where they are now," he said in Mataram, the provincial capital
of West Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday.

A cargo ship is not supposed to carry passengers, but
violations of this rule often occur. The fact that a Naval
officer was also aboard the ship has lent credence to the
allegation that the ship's officials had violated the rule,
allowing passengers to board the vessel.

Separately, in Surabaya, Sumantri, the deputy director of PT
Surya Timur Sejahtera -- the owner of the ill-fated ship -- said
that the 14 crew members who survived the incident were still
being treated at the hospital.

They were suffering from mental shock,said Sumantri.

The crew was saved by two ships that were in the area. The
cargo ship, Artomoro I capsized on Friday after it was hit by
strong waves in waters off Sumbawa.

Sumantri denied that there were 11 passengers aboard, in
addition to the crew.

When the ship departed from Surabaya on Friday, there were no
passengers at all on board, as checked by the port authority, he
said.

Separately, chief of Tanjung Perak port, Capt. Subagyo,
refused to confirm whether or not passengers had been aboard,
adding that his staff were investigating the matter.