Search for ferry's passengers moves to waters off Bali

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 01/06/2007 2:37 PM

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Surabaya

Searches for missing passengers on the Senopati Nusantara ferry that sank with more than 600 people on board were expanded to waters off Bali on Friday as more survivors were picked up from the sea a week after the disaster.

""At this moment the search and rescue efforts have expanded to East Java, including the straits of Bali,"" Central Java provincial rescue coordinator Eko Prayitno told AFP.

""This is because of the currents, which are moving with a speed of two-point-five to three miles per hour. Those afloat would have also moved further east, so our search has expanded to Bali today (Friday).""

Eko said the Navy ships conducting searches near Madura Island, off East Java, were on the move Friday.

""We have also asked ships passing through Mandalika (where the ferry sank) and Bali to help in the rescue efforts.""

The ill-fated Senopati Nusantara sank last Friday along with 628 people on board on its way to Semarang, Central Java, from Kumai in Central Kalimantan.

Around 228 survivors have been picked up from the rough seas.

On Friday, two new groups of survivors -- 15 from Senopati and 14 from another ship that sank, the KM Karlina Indah -- arrived in Surabaya.

The 15 survivors from the Senopati were picked up by fishermen Wednesday but taken to nearby Kangean Island for medical treatment. They and passengers from the Karlina were brought to the Pelabuhan Hospital in Surabaya Friday on board the Navy's KRI Layang.

Two other survivors were airlifted to the hospital by helicopter.

Karlina Indah owner Udi, 50, was grateful the ship's crew of 16 were all safe. The vessel, which was traveling from West Kalimantan's Pontianak to Central Java's Juwana port, sank last Friday at roughly the same time as the Senopati.

""I'm so grateful they all survived in the sea without food and water. They're all my relatives so it's hard for me to imagine losing them altogether at the same time,"" Udi said.

A boy among the Karlina's survivors, Mohammad Rohmadin, 12, said he wanted to go back home to Kalimantan where he attends elementary school.

""I'll share my story surviving in the sea without food and water for five days with my teachers and friends,"" he said.

More than 220 survivors of the ferry, including the Senopati's captain, Wiratno, have been picked up from the seas Friday, but at least 400 are still missing.

Eko said the search would continue for missing passengers.

""Today was supposed to be the seventh and last day of the search and rescue operation, but the President has instructed us to continue the search and we are quite optimistic that we can find more survivors,"" he told AFP.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono earlier told searchers to carry on their work indefinitely. After the 2004 tsunami, people were found alive after floating on rafts for up to three weeks.

The location of the Senopati's wreck is still unknown and officials say the Navy will not begin searching for it with sonar until the weather improves.

Government investigator Ruth Simatupang told AP on Thursday she suspected the waves washed into the car deck and became trapped there, causing the vessel to capsize.

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