Seven drown, 12 missing after packed boat capsizes

JAKARTA (JP): Seven people drowned and 12 others are missing after a motorized boat overloaded with wedding guests capsized Monday afternoon in the Thousand Islands chain in North Jakarta.

Tangerang Police chief Lt. Col. Pudji Hartanto said yesterday there were 30 passengers and three crew members on the Krisna-1, which set sail from Lancang Island for Cituis port in Paku Haji, Tangerang.

"We are currently questioning the three crew members, identified as Iksan, Erwiyanto and Jabili," North Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Setyanto told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Setyanto also said the police and a rescue team from the marines were still searching for the missing.

Measuring 1.5 meters by 7 meters, the vessel reportedly had a capacity of between 12 to 15 occupants. Pudji said passengers apparently panicked when huge waves and winds battered the craft before it capsized about 2.3 nautical miles from Lancang.

Police identified the deceased as Yuliana, 7, Nur, 4, Mrs. Jhoni, 35, all from Pekayon village; Udi Wahyudi, 50, from Kampung Kramat village, and Robi, 20, Maryan, 45 and Yahna, 35, from Pabuaran Mangga village.

All seven bodies have been claimed by their families and buried in their respective villages, he said.

Based on relatives' reports, nine of the missing passengers are identified as Ujang, 25, Sati, 40, Anah, 25, Mrs. Nas, 27, Mrs. Nami, 30, Sarbani, 21, Sarwiah, 50, her son, Rojali, 4, and Acep, 45. Identities of the three others have yet to be determined.

Pudji said the cause of the tragedy was purely accidental.

"The passengers traveled on the Trisna Jaya boat to Lancang to attend the wedding celebration at the house of Alwani.

"After the party ended at 3:30 p.m., they were picked up by a smaller boat, Krisna-1. All of the guests were forced to board the vessel despite the limited space," Pudji said.

Ilyas, 43, one of the survivors, said the crew members did not warn them the craft was dangerously overloaded.

"We were actually surprised to find out the boat was much smaller than the Trisna Jaya," he said.

"The crew members knew that the boat was not enough for us all ... but why did they insist on continuing?"

The marine rescue team, water police and North Jakarta and Tangerang police personnel arrived about one and a half hours after the accident to search for survivors.

"We are very concerned about this incident and hopefully it will be a valuable lesson in the future," Pudji added. (edt/41)