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Rescuers evacuate the survivors of the 147-tonne Dumai Express ferry which went down in heavy rain and huge swells off Karimun island - Sumatra yesterday
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23rd November, 2009
JAKARTA: Twenty six people were killed and some 250 were rescued after a ferry sank in stormy seas off Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Sunday, a navy official said.
The 147-tonne Dumai Express was sailing from Batam island to Pekanbaru when it went down in heavy rain and huge swells off Karimun island, near Singapore in the north of the Indonesian archipelago, police said.
“The latest data (we have are) 250 people were rescued, including the ferry captain and 12 crew members. Twenty-six people have died. We don’t know how many are missing,” navy Lieutenant Colonel Edwin told AFP.
“The passengers probably jumped off the ferry to save themselves as the ferry was sinking. They had life jackets aboard.”
Fishermen were among the first rescuers on the scene and pulled many of the survivors to safety.
A distraught survivor called Kristin told TVOne there were not enough life jackets.
“I saw children running here and there on the ferry as they tried to escape but there weren’t enough life jackets,” she said.
Officials said the death toll could rise as the number of people aboard the boat when it went down around 10:00 am (0300 GMT) was unknown and many might have been trapped below decks.
Its capacity was 273 passengers and crew, but overcrowding is common on Indonesian ferries.
“Strong waves hit the ferry and caused the front part to crack. Water got in and within half an hour it sank,” Edwin said. “The ferry is underwater. We know its position but we have yet to check inside to see if there’s anyone trapped.”
He said the search and rescue efforts had been suspended until first light on Monday.
An investigation is underway to determine if overloading contributed to the accident, sea transport director-general Sunaryo said. “If it was overloaded that’s against the rules and we won’t tolerate that,” he said.
“We will investigate if the ferry was fit to sail and if its documents were complete. We’ll also check whether the ship’s captain and port master went ahead despite the bad weather or if the weather changed.”
Navy spokesman Iskandar Sitompul said the vessel sank after being hit by waves as high as three metres (10 feet), but other officials said the waves were towering up to six metres.
“We’re not sure if anyone is trapped in the ferry. Those who have been rescued are traumatised,” he said, adding that navy ships were helping with the search and rescue effort.
Transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan admitted that it was not uncommon for Indonesian ferries to be overloaded. “In normal conditions ferries can sail with a bit of over-capacity, but in heavier seas it’s not good for stability. We’re still investigating the cause of the sinking,” he said.
Ferry disasters are common in Indonesia despite repeated official promises to tighten and enforce safety regulations.
Corruption is a major problem, with ships selling more tickets than they should and packing ferries with cargo in addition to passengers. Another ferry travelling from Dumai to Moro island, near to where the Dumai Express sank, ran aground at around 2:00 pm but all 270 people on board were safe, Ervan said.
Indonesia’s 234 million people are spread across 17,000 islands and are heavily dependent on a network of ships and boats, which have a poor safety record.
Up to 335 people were killed when a heavily overloaded ferry sank off Sulawesi island in January. In December 2006 a ferry went down in a storm off the coast of Java, killing more than 500 people.
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