Another Indonesia ferry crash kills 16
jakarta — At least a 16 people, including two children, died on Tuesday after a ferry ran aground off the coast of Indonesia, officials said, as rescuers raced to save more than 125 other passengers thought to be aboard the vessel.
The deadly accident comes the same day as authorities officially called off the search for some 164 people still missing after another ferry sank on a popular tourist lake two weeks ago.
Images from the latest accident showed passengers clinging to the side of the KM Lestari as it tipped in waters off Sulawesi island, while other passengers floated in the sea awaiting help.
The ferry began taking on water from a leak in its hull, Indonesia’s transportation agency said, as waves swamped trucks and other vehicles on the boat’s deck before they plunged into the water.
Sixteen people have died, but authorities have not yet accounted for all 139 people listed in the ship’s manifest, local police spokesman Dicky Sondani told Kompas TV.
The transportation agency said passengers had been wearing life jackets. “Some passengers have been successfully evacuated,” it added in a statement. The vessel was sailing from Sulawesi to nearby Selayar island when it ran into strong winds and high waves.
Indonesia on Tuesday stopped searching in one of the world’s deepest lakes for the bodies of dozens of victims of a ferry sinking two weeks ago. Officials said after “intense” discussions with the families of victims, the end of the search effort was marked with prayers, the scattering of flowers on Lake Toba and a groundbreaking ceremony for a monument.
The ferry, five times above its passenger limit and also carrying dozens of motorcycles, sank in the volcanic crater lake on Sumatra in rough weather on June 18.
The full scale of the tragedy took days to unfold as the boat didn’t have a passenger manifest. Officials at one point said more than 190 people were missing. Their official toll Tuesday was 21 survivors including the boat’s captain, 3 bodies found and 164 people missing, presumed drowned.
Sonar has pinpointed the ferry at a depth of 450 meters (1,476 feet). A remotely operated underwater vehicle last week captured images of bodies and motorcycles on the lake bed. Police in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, said they’re finalizing criminal charges against five people including the captain and 4 transportation officials.
“They knew the capacity of the ferry Sinar Bangun was only 40,” North Sumatra police chief Paulus Waterpau said.— AFP, AP