Two more bodies found from boat accident

JAKARTA (JP): The bodies of two young children were found on Tuesday morning as the search continued for survivors of PLM Oleo Putra II which sank in waters off Jailolo in North Maluku on Sunday morning.

"The two bodies were found floating in waters near Dupa-Dupa beach in the Ternate Islands. Both were small children," North Maluku Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Zulkarnain told The Jakarta Post from Ternate in North Maluku.

So far 22 bodies have been found, while 54 people survived the tragedy which was caused by the yacht smashing into rocks in rough seas early on Sunday morning.

"We are still looking for nine more victims after receiving reports from families claiming that relatives were on board," the officer said.

"Theoretically, a person has a chance of surviving one week in the sea, so we'll keep on looking," he said.

The exact number of those on aboard remains unknown. The official log of the PLM Oleo Putra II only accounted for 30 passengers and 10 crew.

It is believed that as many as 100 may have been on board.

Zulkarnain stressed that "this accident would not have happened if local port officials had not let the ship sail during such bad weather on Sunday."

He urged ship crews to be careful when sailing, paying more attention to the weather and the ship's cargo during high seas over the next few months.

"Port officials must be more responsive to this as we do not have sufficient resources to cope when a boating accident takes place. We do not even have a boat to reach the site of the accident," he said.

The wooden-hulled ship is believed to have been mainly carrying refugees from the strife-torn area, along with 25 tons of cargo including foodstuffs and plywood, from Bastiong port in the west of North Maluku to the Galela district of Halmahera Island in the east.

The traditional style 92-ton boat was not licensed to carry passengers. (edt)