Two suspects named in ship tragedy

SORONG, Irian Jaya: Police detained a ship captain and an official of a transportation agency at Teminabuan in connection with the capsized Sembra vessel in a Sorong regency river estuary which claimed 29 lives.

The two men, identified as S, 33, and M, 35, were detained on charges of neglect which led to the loss of lives.

Antara reported that preliminary questioning revealed the two men were intimidated by passengers prior to the accident. They were told "something" would happen if the cargo ship did not depart, Sorong Police chief Lt. Col. Ch. Sitorus said.

The ship was overloaded with more than 100 passengers, although it was licensed to carry a maximum of 50.

"Port officials are often threatened and hit by passengers, so when the captain was intimidated, he couldn't do anything even though he knew that the vessel was overloaded," Sitorus said.

The vessel sank two hours after it set sail on Aug. 19.(emf)