Sabang mayor breaks down over ferry grief

Sabang mayor breaks down over ferry grief

JAKARTA (JP): Emotion caught up with Sabang Mayor Bustari
Mansyur who has been touring Weh Island these past 10 days to
console the grieving relatives of those who died when their ferry
sank on the way to the island on Jan. 19.

Bustari yesterday broke into tears the moment he stepped into
the house of a mourning family, Antara reported. The incident was
repeated as he visited other houses later.

"Whose heart wouldn't break to find the grief in these
families. They all broke down the moment we set our foot in their
doors. I couldn't hold back my own tears," the mayor told the
news agency later.

The mourning has continued to this day because most of the
families are still uncertain about the fate of their loved ones.

So far, only 94 people -- 40 survivors and 54 bodies -- have
been accounted for from the Gurita which sank while crossing from
Aceh to Sabang. The passengers' manifest listed 210 people
including 16 crewmen, but the actual number of people on board
has been the subject of contention.

The government insisted that there could be two dozen extra
passengers who bought tickets on board. Survivors maintained that
the ship was far more overloaded, and a Sabang mayoralty survey
of mourning families on the Island found that 295 islanders alone
were on that ship.

Most of the missing passengers are believed to be trapped in
the shipwreck now lying on the seabed off Weh Island.

Bustari has been visiting every family who lost their loved
ones in that ferry. He is donating 15 kgs of rice to the grieving
families rice and Rp 25,000 cash for each life lost.

In Jakarta, President Soeharto yesterday appealed to the
grieving relatives to accept the death of their loved ones.

State Minister for Food Affairs Ibrahim Hassan, who is a
leading Acehnese public figure, told reporters after meeting with
the head of state that Soeharto sent his condolences to all the
grieving relatives.

"They should let them go in peace," Ibrahim quoted the
President as saying.

Soeharto last week ordered Minister of Transportation Haryanto
Dhanutirto to consider ways of lifting the shipwreck.

Experts however have ruled out that option because it would
involve a prohibitively huge cost. This explanation was accepted
by the President, Ibrahim said.

The Navy has said that according to procedural guidelines, a
search operation should be stopped after two weeks. (emb)