Residents rampage over late rescue plan

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of residents of the Merauke regency, Irian Jaya, ran amok on Thursday in response to the slow rescue operation to search and rescue the victims of the sunken KM Bimas Raya II ferry, which sank in the Arafura sea off the regency on Monday evening.

Antara reported from Merauke that mobs damaged and burned government buildings, houses and a market, paralyzing the economic and social activities of the city.

A number of angry residents said they regretted the rescue workers' slow action in locating the victims.

"We expected the rescue workers to immediately take the victims to Merauke to let relatives of the passengers obtain instant information of the passengers' fate," one of the residents said.

The KM Bimas Raya II sank on its way back to Merauke seaport from its route along the rivers in the eastern part of Irian Jaya. Some 300 passengers were reportedly on board, while only 35 of them had been rescued from the sinking ship.

Chief of the Merauke Military District Lt. Col. Udin said three of the victims were found dead, floating in the sea.

An officer at Merauke's Search and Rescue office said on Thursday that the authorities were yet to determine the cause of the incident.

"Probably because of overcapacity and leakages at the bottom of the ship," the officer, who requested anonymity, said.

He said rescue operations were continuing under the guidance of a military helicopter.

Earlier, at noon on Wednesday, the angry residents who were dissatisfied with the information provided by the rescue authorities, staged a protest at the local legislative council, demanding immediate rescue of the victims. They later started damaging and burning houses, including government buildings.

The damaged buildings include the Merauke seaport administrative office, the Merauke Coastal Guard office, the Merauke's Logistics Agency (Dolog) office, a number of houses and kiosks surrounding the seaport and the Ampera market. The mobs also looted kiosks belonging to market traders.

The home of an Antara journalist and the local Cenderawasih Pos daily office were also damaged by the mobs.

Paralyzed

The two-day unrest paralyzed the city, sending city residents home from work. They chose to stay at home in the absence of public transportation in the city as the only means of transportation were police and military trucks.

Meanwhile, fishing boats and cargo ships dropped anchors off the seaport to avoid the mobs after rumors said that they would extend their actions by burning the ships and boats docked at the seaport.

The situation remained tense as of Thursday afternoon, while dozens of police and military officers stood guard at strategic locations, such as banks and offices of the State Electricity Company PT PLN, the State Oil and Gas Company PT Pertamina and the State Telecommunication Company PT Telkom.(eba/imn)