The Jakarta Post, 7/12/2007 6:02:20 PM
Huge waves hamper rescue of ship survivors
AMBON (Antara): A number of survivors of the sunken passenger ship KM Wahai Star
were still floating in the sea as rescue efforts were hampered by huge waves, a local
official said Thursday.
"We were sad to know that they were still floating in the sea. We tried to approach
them but could not make it as our rescue tanker was hit by the high wave," said
Banny Gasperez of the Maluku transportation office, adding that the wave reached
4-meter high.
The tanker, provided by state-owned oil company PT Pertamina, has so far evacuated
29 people including two dead bodies from the sea.
The passenger boat KM Wahai Star was in its regular voyage from Buru island to
Ambon, the capital city of Maluku, at around midnight on Wednesday, when it had an
engine breakdown.
About 60 people, including 17 crew members, were recorded on board the ill-fated
ship. However, Ambon crisis center said that more than 100 people were reportedly
missing by their families and relatives. It is a common practice here that passengers
often take public transportation without buying tickets, therefore their names do not
exist in the passenger list. (**)
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