Storm kills one, injures six

Storm kills one, injures six

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: A man died and six others were injured
on Saturday when a storm wrecked their boat on the waters off
Waigeo Island, some 900 kilometers west of here.

All the victims are employees of the Natural Resources
Conservation Agency, who were on an assignment to measure a plot
of land belonging to a plantation company in Waigeo.

The casualty was identified as Sandy, a native of Biltar in
East Java. His body was flown to Blitar for burial.

The head of the Ministry of Forestry and Plantation office
here, Sudjud, told Antara strong waves tore the boat to pieces as
the team was about to reach Waigeo.

He quoted the surviving employees as saying that Sandy grabbed
two plastic jerrycans before he drowned.

All Sandy's six colleagues used a piece of tarpaulin to
survive, according to Sudjud. They were helped by local
fishermen. (amd)