HUNDREDS FEARD DEAD AFTER FERRY CAPSIZE IN INDONESIA

[Cody Williams]

Scores of people are feared dead after a ferry carrying more than 260 passengers and crew sank in stormy seas off Indonesia's Sulawesi island early on Sunday, officials said.

The ferry was about 50km off Majene, western Sulawesi, when authorities lost contact with it at about 2am, officials said.

Transport Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said he believed about 150 people had been found alive, but fears were mounting for 100 others who remained lost at sea.

"The ferry with 250 passengers on board was hit by a cyclone. This is based on the account of the ferry's captain who was rescued alive by fishermen late this afternoon," he told AFP.

"One hundred people are still missing while 150 people have been found, but it's not clear how many are alive or died. But based on the reports I've received, I can assume they are all in good condition."

However, Sea Transport Department Director General Sunaryo said only 18 survivors had been rescued by fishermen.

"Rescue teams from the police and the navy have been sent but bad weather and high waves have hampered the search," he said.

Another official in Majene said the Teratai Prima was carrying about 250 passengers and 17 crew when it sank as it sailed from Pare-Pare in South Sulawesi to Samarinda in East Kalimantan.

A survivor told the local TVOne television station that four-metre waves hit the ferry before it went down. "I was with my wife and child ... I don't know where they are," he said.


The station said there were only three lifeboats on board the ferry but this has not been confirmed.

The state-run Antara news agency said the vessel went down at 4am in heavy seas.

The area has been buffeted by storms, heavy rains and high winds for several days, causing flash flooding in some areas.


Ferries are a key form of transport in Indonesia, a massive archipelago of 234 million people.

Sinkings are common and the government has repeatedly vowed to improve safety regulations.

In December 2006 more than 500 people were killed when a ferry sank in a storm off the coast of Java.

Nine people were killed when a ferry caught fire at sea in remote Maluku province in September last year.

And in May last year a ferry caught fire in a river in Borneo island but all of the nearly 800 people on board survived.

Source: www.smh.com.au

[miraflores]

Posting from yesterday:

http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6180&forum=2

[Hans & Simon Rosenkranz]

The Jakarta Post reporting today one person rescued:

one person rescued

[Morten]

A terrible accident! But unfortunately, I think we hear about quite a few of these incidents in that part of the world. Both from the phillipines and Indonesia. And when you see some of the ferries out there, you understand why! Old, mismaintained and just incredibly overcrowded. And the worst of it is, that there doesn't seem to be any change comming any time soon. Because though the government has an obligation to ensure that these ferries are maintained and that passenger restrictions are met, the governments doesn't have the ressources to intervene and the ships are operated by companies with no regard for human lives!

I would think twice before embarking a ferry in Indonesia or the Phillipines!