Survivor and dead body found from ill-fated ship
Survivor and dead body found from ill-fated ship
JAKARTA (JP): A bedraggled survivor and the first dead body
from KLM Arta Rimba, the ship with more than 325 people aboard
which sank near the West Kalimantan coast on Sunday, were found
on Thursday.
"They were found by fishermen near the accident site," Capt.
Zainuddin, the section chief in charge of sea traffic and
transport at the port administration's office in Pontianak, told
The Jakarta Post by phone.
Zainuddin speculated the ship's captain and crew "played
tricks on authorities" because the vessel was not authorized to
carry passengers.
He said the survivor found in the South China Sea on Thursday
was evacuated to a hospital in Singkawang, about 20 kilometers
south of the ship's departure point on Saturday and 130
kilometers north of the provincial capital Pontianak.
The man's rescue brought to 20 the number of survivors. At
least 304 are still missing.
The ship was en route to Riau's Pekanbaru port.
It was only permitted to carry the captain and seven crew
members.
Zainuddin ruled out any foreigners being aboard the ship.
"No foreigners would have wanted to board it," he said. The
148-ton ship, measuring 30 meters long and 10 meters wide, was
apparently grossly overcrowded.
Survivors told a local daily they boarded the ship from
another port in Sambas, not the one cited by a Sambas port
administration office. The ship's permit stated it was to set
sail last Thursday.
Villagers
Aboard were mostly villagers seeking employment in Riau,
reports said.
Zainuddin said the search for survivors was continuing with
the help of the Navy warship KRI Rencong, its Nomad plane and
other search and rescue units.
"The Navy asked for body bags this morning," he said.
Arta Rimba sank 11 hours after setting sail when the ship's
crew was unable to fix a leak in the hull.
Capt. Hermanto, 33, one of the survivors, said he issued a
distress call, but the radio apparently malfunctioned. The water
pump was also broken.
Hermanto said he instructed passengers to put on the 200 life
jackets available on the ship, while the rest were forced to
grab onto anything that could float.
The ship reportedly sank near Tambelan, part of a cluster of
islands near the site.
In 1981, at least 600 people were killed when Tampomas II sank
off East Java. In 1996, 338 passengers died when the Gurita ferry
capsized near Sabang, Aceh. (aan)