Hopes fade for Indonesia ferry survivors
INDONESIA: Rescuers scoured the Malacca Strait in Indonesia for a
third day Tuesday as hopes faded that any more survivors of a deadly
ferry sinking would be found, officials said.
Officials said there was little chance of finding anyone alive two
days after the Dumai Express went down off Karimun island near
Singapore, the latest of a long series of such disasters to hit the
archipelago nation.
The latest official figures gave 28 people dead, down one from a toll
released Monday. Another 255 had been rescued and 21 were listed as
missing, the health ministry’s crisis centre said.
“Our team is continuing search operations but the chance of finding
survivors is slim,” Karimun police chief Imam Santoso told AFP.
“Rescue teams will keep scouring through the waters and coordinating
with ferries and fishermen passing through the accident site.”
Some of the missing are feared to be trapped in the wreck of the
vessel, which sank in less than 30 minutes in heavy swells on Sunday
after setting sail from Batam to Sumatra.
No one knows exactly how many people were on the 147-tonne craft. Its
capacity was 273 passengers and crew, but police have said more than 400
people could have been on board and survivors guessed there were about
350.
Tanjung Balai, Tuesday, AFP
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