Police continue search for boat victims

Police continue search for boat victims

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Police said yesterday they were
continuing to search for victims of the ill-fated Peldatari I
boat which sank Sunday in Lake Toba, because many people were
still unaccounted for.

The North Sumatra Police had received reports from 67 people
who believed they had relatives on that boat, Chief Spokesman Lt.
Col. Amrin Karim told The Jakarta Post.

The police search focused on streams linking the lake in the
belief that some victims might have drifted there, Amrin said.

The Search and Rescue agency stopped the search Thursday after
fishing 83 bodies out of the lake.

The boat was carrying far in excess of its capacity when it
sank. The exact number of passengers is unknown aboard the boat
which had been ferrying people home to Samosir Island in the
middle of the lake after the Lake Toba cultural festival.

Eighty-six people had survived the tragedy, officials said.

North Tapanuli Regent T.M.H. Sinaga told Antara yesterday that
people on Samosir would pray and feast in a Indahan Sipaet-paet
ceremony Monday for mourners and survivors.

Ashwin Effendi, head of the North Sumatra Office of the
Ministry of Transportation, said yesterday that the Peldatari I's
skipper, Oppu Sihotang, who is believed to be at large, and his
three assistants were entirely to blame for the accident.

Ashwin said the boat had sailed without the permission of
the River and Lake Transportation Agency in Tigaraja port. To
avoid detection, the skipper had made most of the passengers
board outside the port, he added.

The skipper is believed to have fled.

Ashwin also ruled out the possibility of foul play on the part
of officials at the river and lake transportation agency. Antara
reported that Ashwin was responding to speculation that the
agency's officials might have made "mistakes" that eventually led
to the accident.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto had ordered an
investigation into the reported violations that caused the
accident, including overloading and the absence of proper safety
equipment. However, there were also reports that said the boat
was leaking.

The Peldatari accident came on the heels of another ferry
accident. The MV Sentosa 10 wooden boat sank off Batam Island on
Saturday, killing 12 of its 85 registered passengers. (21/10)