Stranded workers sent home

Stranded workers sent home

TERNATE, North Maluku: The Indonesian consulate office in
Davao, Philippines, said the 23 people from Morotai whose ship
went missing last month have been found and subsequently sent
home.

The 23 people were aboard MV Asri Utama Lamusu, the vessel
reported missing Sept. 6 off Morotai Island. They were rescued by
Filipino fishermen and brought to Davao, Antara reported.

Consul General in Davao, Asmardi Arbi, said Monday the 23
Indonesians were put on a fishing boat owned by a Filipino
company in General Santos City in Mindanao and were taken to
Bitung Port in North Sulawesi.

From Bitung, they will be transferred to another fishing boat
owned by state-owned ferry company PT Angkutan Sungai Danau dan
Penyeberangan (PT ASDP) and will be brought here.

There were 30 passengers, including a baby born on board, when
the ship went missing. Six passengers died of starvation,
including the baby.

The news agency did not say how long the boat had been adrift
before it was rescued, or who the passengers were and what was
their destination. But Arbi said the passengers were treated well
during their stay in General Santos City.

He also said that nine Indonesian fishermen, whose boat
entered Philippine waters Sept. 7, will soon be sent back to
Toli-Toli in Southeast Sulawesi. (swe)