Seven die in boat collision on Barito river

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Rescue workers have found the bodies of all seven victims who went missing after a coal barge collided with a motorboat on the Barito river in the South Kalimantan regency of Barito Kuala on Monday.

Perawirawan, the senior official at the Ujung Panti River Transportation Office, told Antara on Wednesday that the fatalities were all the people on board the motorboat. They were the boat's skipper, Syaukani, 60, his four-month-old daughter Anisa, his wife Faridah, 25, and other passengers Usu, 25, Indera, 26, Norma, 17, and Sini, 32.

"They were all found dead on the wreck," Perawirawan said. "We were able to find them because the water in the river had receded, making it easy for us to pull the boat to the riverbank."

He said that his team first found Syaukani at 7:40 a.m. before recovering the bodies of his daughter, wife and other passengers.

The effort to find the missing boat passengers was jointly conducted by the provincial search and rescue board, the Barito Kuala regency transportation office, local police and other related agencies.

The Do'a Anisa was on its way from Banjarmasin to Puruk Cahu when it collided with the coal barge, PEC 501, which was being pulled by a tug boat on Monday night.

Four of the 11 people on board the motorboat survived.

The Do'a Anisa sank after the collision.

Police detained the barge and tug boat for further investigation.

The barge and tug boat belong to privately run transportation company Rigtender, and were chartered by coal mine PT Adaro Indonesia to carry coal from Hulu Sungai Utara and Tabalong regencies.

"The collision occurred while the boats were heading to the river mouth where the coal mining is situated," Perawirawan said.