Port closes as cargo boat sinks

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: Ippi Port in the town of Ende on Flores island was temporarily closed on Monday after a boat sank while being laded with cargo, officials said.

No casualties were reported, but at least 41 trucks and two cars sank along with the KM Nusa Damai boat on Sunday evening.

The accident occurred when the vessel, 118 meters long and 18 meters wide, with a capacity of 5,878 tons of cargo, began to list dangerously to one side while being loaded. The vessel then developed a leak and slowly sank.

Port management head Farouk Djawas said on Monday all loading and unloading activities at the port were temporarily halted, and all ships rerouted to nearby ports.

"We are working to raise the boat from the bottom of the sea so the port can resume operations," he said. --JP