Survivors describe panic on board doomed Indonesia ferry

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Survivors describe panic on board doomed Indonesia ferry

Posted: 31 December 2006 0343 hrs

JAKARTA - Survivors of an Indonesian ferry disaster Saturday described how panic spread among the hundreds of passengers as the ship rocked violently in stormy conditions before sinking.

More than 500 people were missing after the "Senopati Nusantara" (Archipelago Commander) sank in a storm off the coast of Java, where search and rescue efforts were called off due to rough seas.

Some 59 people have been rescued so far, and most were being treated in hospital in Rembang, northeast of Semarang, the ferry's destination.

One of the survivors said the ship started to feel unstable in the rough seas on Friday afternoon, several hours before it sank.

"It started at about 2:00 pm on Friday and I could see that the ship was clearly not stable. Many of the passengers were already panicking and feeling edgy," Irfan Setiawan told MetroTV.

A fellow survivor described the nightmare conditions shortly before the ship went down Friday night.

"It was late at night and the ship was rocking and swaying and it looked as if the ship would capsize and it kept getting worse through the night," Holit told ElShinta radio.

"Finally, at about 11:00 pm people were really panicking as we could feel the ship rocking violently. People were then asked to put on their life jackets and hang on to some floats," he said.

"I was looking for my daughter but it was just too dark, and suddenly it was as if the ship had snapped and broke, but I could not tell what happened exactly," said Holit.

Setiawan said it was "as if the ship had lost its balance and overturned".

Passengers were then thrown into the sea and spent hours floating in their life jackets or on life rafts in the stormy waters, before being rescued by passing fishermen or navy ships.

"We were all suddenly thrown into the water and floating on the sea and I had lost my daughter," Holit said.

"I hung on to a float and at 6:00 am the next day a fisherman's boat spotted us after hearing our cries for help. There were 19 of us stranded out there and praying that we would be saved," he said.

"We were all rescued and brought to the Rembang hospital for treatment."

Holit's 18-year-old daughter, Lailatul Badriah, was not among those rescued so far.

"I survived by holding onto a float on the ship and the water washed me away from the wreck towards the open sea," Setiawan said.

"There were many passengers scrambling to save themselves ... there were more than 30 of them there at that time."

Marine transport official Suharto said the ship appeared to have capsized.

"Based on the latest information we have, we know that it did not break -- maybe it cracked and capsized, but we are still investigating," Suharto told ElShinta.

"We have also informed nearby ships to look out for any victims and offer help."

Semarang port official Slamet Rahardjo said there were 545 passengers and 57 crew on board when it sank.

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More Indonesian ferry survivors found, hundreds still missing

Posted: 31 December 2006 1633 hrs

TUBAN, Indonesia: Indonesian fishermen and rescuers have found at least 177 survivors as ships continued on Sunday the search for more than 400 people still missing after a ferry sank in a storm off the coast of Java, officials said.

Some 151 survivors were already on land while 15 others were on a Vietnamese ship making its way to the Javanese port of Surabaya, the transport department said.

"Besides that, there is one victim who is dead and is on board a fisherman's boat which is also bringing 11 survivors to Rembang at the moment," department official Soeharto was quoted as saying by the official Antara news agency.

A group of 17 men and one woman was picked up by fishing boats and taken to Rembang hospital, where most of the survivors of the ferry disaster have been taken for medical check-ups, Rembang police officer Suripto told AFP.

The "Senopati Nusantara" (Archipelago Commander) sank late Friday off the north coast of Java with some 600 people on board while en route from Kumai on Borneo island to the Javanese port city of Semarang.

The ferry was carrying 545 passengers and 57 crew, port official Slamet Rahardjo told reporters in Semarang. It was licensed to carry 850.

He said the ship was equipped with two lifeboats, 47 life rafts capable of carrying 1,175 people, and 1,125 lifejackets.

17 rescued people arrived in Tuban early Sunday and were treated for dehydration.

"They have not eaten for about two days. They were floating in the water for about 10 to 12 hours and then the boat couldn't get alongside because the waves were too strong," said Yuni, a nurse at Tuban hospital.

Search and rescue operations resumed Sunday with five warships and two police ships, ElShinta radio said. Rescue efforts were also bolstered by fishing boats and other private vessels despite continuing bad weather conditions.

Navy ships KRI Pulau Limau and KRI Bengkoang searched through the night but other vessels had had to return to port on Saturday as waves five to six metres (about 17 to 20 feet) high hampered rescue efforts.

Rembang deputy police chief Widiatmoko said local fishermen had joined the search for survivors. Rows of traditional wooden fishing boats were anchored about a kilometre (less than a mile) off shore.

It was still not known exactly where the ferry sank but search efforts were being concentrated in the seas between Surabaya and Semarang off the north coast of central Java.

Officials said they lost contact with the vessel around midnight (1700 GMT Friday).

21 survivors found in a life raft were brought into Rembang port on the coast late Saturday.

Looking very tired after their ordeal, they disembarked from a tugboat in front of a crowd of onlookers before being whisked away by police to the local hospital.

Crowds of family members searched the lists of survivors posted at the Rembang district hospital, hoping to find the names of sons and daughters, mothers and fathers.

"I hope the government can get on with the rescue as soon as possible because the longer it takes, the smaller the chances of survival," said Said, who had received a dreaded phone call that his mother had been aboard.

Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa had told MetroTV "we are using our maximum efforts to rescue as many people as possible".

He later told ElShinta radio the ship had been built in 1990 and serviced in 2006, "so it should not have had any problems".

"The huge waves had caused the ship to sink," he said.

The local weather office said the seas north of Java would not be safe for navigation for the next two or three days due to tropical storms.

Ferries are a crucial link between the archipelago nation's 17,000 islands and frequently carry more people than officially acknowledged. Boats are also often overloaded due to lax safety standards.