Dozens feared dead in Indonesia ferry disaster

JAKARTA – Hopes faded yesterday of finding any more survivors from a ferry that sank off the eastern Indonesian province of Papua last week, with as many as 200 people believed trapped inside, a rescue official said.

Some of the passengers were children on school holiday when the state-operated ferry, the Digul, was engulfed by waves on Thursday. Fifteen people, including two crew members, were rescued alive.”Seeing that we have only been able to find 15 people after three days, we believe that most of the passengers had been trapped inside the boat,” said Sumpeno Juwono, a search and rescue official from Merakuke district.The vessel’s manifest showed 35 passengers and a crew of 13 when the ship left the port of Merauke some 3 740 kilometres east of Jakarta, but survivors said the number on board was between 100 and 200.The rescue effort will now focus on trying to overturn the wreck, which was found belly up around 15 metres underwater some 15 nautical miles off the coast, Juwono told AFP.”What we will attempt is to use two trawler ships to try to drag the boat or overturn it so that we can evacuate bodies trapped inside,” he said.The vessel had been transporting two bulldozers and hundreds of sacks of cement as well as the passengers.The manifest showed that some of the passengers were school children.- Nampa-AFPFifteen people, including two crew members, were rescued alive.”Seeing that we have only been able to find 15 people after three days, we believe that most of the passengers had been trapped inside the boat,” said Sumpeno Juwono, a search and rescue official from Merakuke district.The vessel’s manifest showed 35 passengers and a crew of 13 when the ship left the port of Merauke some 3 740 kilometres east of Jakarta, but survivors said the number on board was between 100 and 200.The rescue effort will now focus on trying to overturn the wreck, which was found belly up around 15 metres underwater some 15 nautical miles off the coast, Juwono told AFP.”What we will attempt is to use two trawler ships to try to drag the boat or overturn it so that we can evacuate bodies trapped inside,” he said.The vessel had been transporting two bulldozers and hundreds of sacks of cement as well as the passengers.The manifest showed that some of the passengers were school children.- Nampa-AFP