Searchers find three more victims of sunken ship
Searchers find three more victims of sunken ship
JAKARTA (JP): Rescue workers discovered on Sunday three more
bodies from the KLM Arta Rimba, which carried 325 people on board
when it sank last week near Penikek Island in West Kalimantan, an
official said.
The latest discovery brought the total number of victims found
from the accident to 13, while another 20 passengers, including
the captain, were rescued alive.
"As of 4 p.m. Sunday, the three bodies were already on board
the KRI Rencong. We did not find any victims Saturday," Suardi,
an official responsible for sea traffic and transport at the port
office in Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan, told The
Jakarta Post by phone.
The three male victims were brought to the Dr. Sudarso
Hospital in Kampung Bangka Belitung, Pontianak.
"The search will be continued as there is not yet any official
order to call it off," he said.
On Friday, nine bodies were found near Penikek island, while
the Navy reported that at least 19 bodies were spotted by its
monitoring plane floating in the waters off Pengiki island.
AFP reported Sunday that one more body was found by KRI
Siliman around midnight and has been transported to the hospital.
The body had not yet been identified.
Meanwhile, private television station SCTV on Saturday
quoted search and rescue officials as saying two planes involved
in the search had spotted dozens of bodies.
They were scattered over a large area some 30 to 40 nautical
miles from the site of the accident, the report said.
Most of the 20 survivors were rescued by a passing foreign
cargo ship while another survivor was picked up by fishermen in
the area four days after the boat sank.
Survivors said the boat sank because of a leaking hull and
water pump failure.
The sinking of the Arta Rimba is among the worst shipping
incidents in the country. In January 1996, an overloaded ferry
sank in bad weather off Weh Island on the northern tip of
Sumatra. Fifty-five bodies were recovered and at least 283 were
never found. Only 39 people were rescued. (edt)