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11 killed in Islamic New Year celebration
GIFT FOR THE INVISIBLE: Villagers conduct the Larung Sesaji, an offering ritual, at the Ngebel dam in Ponorogo, East Java, on Monday to commemorate the Islamic New Year
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GIFT FOR THE INVISIBLE: Villagers conduct the Larung Sesaji, an offering ritual, at the Ngebel dam in Ponorogo, East Java, on Monday to commemorate the Islamic New Year. The giant cone of rice, the main offering, was carried on a raft to the middle of the dam before being thrown into the water. (JP/ID Nugroho)
Muslims around the world welcomed the Islamic New Year with Koran recitals and various celebrations on Monday, but one of those celebrations turned ugly when 11 people drowned in high waves off Pemalang regency, Central Java.
All 11 drowned after their boat capsized in Asemdoyong bay. Ten others remain in critical condition, while several are still missing.
The victims were on board the boat for the sedekah laut ritual, in which people throw offerings out to sea to commemorate Islamic New Year.
The survivors were taken to M. Ashari hospital. Sita, a nurse at the hospital, said the 11 who drowned had all been identified — three of them were children and one was a 7-month-old infant.
Pemalang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bambang Sukardi told reporters the boat was severely overloaded — it had a capacity of 25 passengers, but there were 40 people on board.
As of 8 p.m. Monday evening, the police were still questioning the boat’s skipper, Suharyo, and his assistant.
Bambang said they were being questioned as witnesses.
“But if the evidence is there, we can name them suspects in the accident,” he said, adding the cause of the accident was still unknown, pending further investigation.
Eyewitnesses said the overloaded boat went down in high waves during the ritual.
“There should be a warning, or a ban on local people going out to sea when there are high waves. However, because it’s a tradition, it’s difficult to stop them doing it,” Bambang said.
The police are working together with local fishermen to search for those still missing.
