Search for bodies resumes
Police detain captain
TIGARAS, Indonesia, June 21, (Agencies): Family members waiting in desperation at a small port on Indonesia’s Lake Toba for news of missing relatives performed mass prayers Thursday as the search for more than 190 people unaccounted for after a ferry sinking continued for a fourth day.
Only 18 people have been rescued and four confirmed dead since the overcrowded ferry sank early Monday evening in waters that officials say are up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) deep.
Budiawan, the head of the search and rescue agency in nearby Medan, told Indonesian TV that the captain was among those rescued. He gave no other details but local media reports said the captain was being questioned by police.
The disaster, likely Indonesia’s worst sinking in more than a decade, has prompted President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to call for an overhaul of safety standards for passenger boats. Ferries are an important means of transportation in the nation of more than 17,000 islands, which cover an area that would stretch from New York to London.
About a thousand people crowded Tigaras pier on Thursday, including several hundred relatives of victims, some weeping uncontrollably, others silent and pensive.
Each time a search and rescue vessel docked, relatives ran toward it, only to turn away with faces contorted in disappointment or crying out the names of loved ones when it became clear no family member had been found.
Members of a religious organization tried to comfort people, organizing mass prayers for Christians and Muslims that continued for an hour. Chanting of Quranic and Christian verses was interrupted by the sobs of relatives and onlookers also moved to tears.
Cellphone video taken from another ferry that attempted to rescue people after the sinking has spread widely online and on television. The video shows dozens of people struggling in rough waters and crying for help while several of them try to swim for an orange lifesaver apparently thrown from the ferry.
Maruddin Siagian, waiting with other family members for news of his younger brother, said they’re haunted by those images.
Meanwhile, the captain of an overloaded Indonesian ferry that sank into the depths of Sumatra’s Lake Toba has been detained by police for questioning over the deadly disaster, authorities said Thursday.
He was among just 18 people rescued after the vessel capsized and sank Monday afternoon at the picturesque volcanic lake, a popular tourist destination.
Three passengers have been confirmed dead.
But official estimates Thursday morning listed 193 others — including children — as missing, raising fears the sinking could be one of Indonesia’s deadliest maritime disasters.
Its captain, identified as Tua Sagala, is also the vessel’s owner, police said.
“The captain of the boat is now with the police,” national police spokesman Yusri Yunus said Thursday.
“But we haven’t questioned him yet because he is still traumatised.”
“We see there’s a possibility to begin a criminal investigation because of negligence that resulted in people losing their lives,” national police chief Tito Karnavian said during a visit to the base of rescue operations at the lake, one of the world’s deepest.
“The captain may be named a suspect,” Karnavian said, adding that regional transport officials would also be questioned about supervision.
Authorities were trying to get clearer information from the captain and survivors on where the vessel went down.
“(The captain’s) health remains unstable. We asked him some questions, but he has yet to remember clearly,” police official Agus Darojat told Metro TV.