Trouble at ferry harbor

Trouble at ferry harbor

SERANG, West Java: Hundreds of people attacked a ticket counter and smashed windows at the ferry harbor in Merak on Friday morning when they were told that they could not cross the Sunda Strait to Lampung because all seats were sold out.

The people, who had been waiting for hours hoping to spend New Year's Eve in Sumatra, vented their anger on the ticket sellers.

As it turned out later, there were enough ferries and seats for every one.

The ferries carried some 34,000 people, at more than 3,000 in 40 trips, within 24 hours from Thursday morning.

At the beginning of the holiday season, the ferries carried between 15,000 and 20,000 people a day. (sim)