Search efforts to locate 'Cahaya Bahari' intensify
JAKARTA (JP): Efforts to locate the ferry which vanished in stormy waters off North Sulawesi intensified on Friday as fears grew that the death toll could reach nearly 500.
"On Friday noon Nomad military helicopters combed the waters for three hours in a 40-mile radius from where the Cahaya Bahari gave its last SOS signal, but nothing came up," Udianto, the administrative chief of the North Sulawesi Ministry of Communications office, said.
Radio contact with the wooden-hulled vessel was lost after its captain, M.M. Paparaga, radioed an "SOS" advising that the ship was taking water in fast during a violent storm at about 10:45 a.m. on Thursday.
The ship was believed to be about 42 miles east of Siau island in the Sangihe and Talaud islands regency when it lost radio contact.
Four naval ships, including the KRI Multatuli, KRI Lambung Mangkurat, KRI Singa, along with dozens of civilian ships, such as the KM Nusa Utara, KM Oceania II and Oceania III, and fishing boats have been deployed in the search mission.
"We are trying our best to locate the ship. The search will continue as it is still unclear whether the ship has completely sunk," Udianto said.
Rescuers returning from search operations have reported no trace of the ship or any other scattered items, such as baggage or wreckage.
Heavy seas, low cloud cover and strong tidal waves which were reaching three meters high were also hampering the search.
Ferries of this kind rarely come equipped with adequate life jackets or lifeboats.
There is conflicting data about the total passengers on board as the Cahaya Bahari was licensed to carry only 270 people according to chief of Maluku's communications office Bob Halattu.
The National Search and Rescue Agency claimed that at least 492 passengers and crew may have been aboard.
The ship, bound for Manado, North Sulawesi, is believed to have been packed with people fleeing communal conflicts in Tobelo on Halmahera island in North Maluku.
In Manado Port, hundreds of anxious relatives sat waiting for news of their loved ones. They swarmed the port soon after news broke that the ship had gone missing on Thursday.
"We are asking for their patience as the status of the ship is still unknown," Udianto said.
Fears were compounded further as it is said that the waters in that area are infested with sharks.
But the head of the rescue team, Soleman, was quoted by Antara on Friday as saying that there is a possibility they may have headed back to its port of origin in Tobelo, North Maluku, and have not been able to contact port officials as the area was deserted due to the latest riot on June 19.(48/edt)