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Seven dead, 11 missing in boat accidents

Seven people were reported dead and another 11 missing in two seperate incidents of boats sinking over the last two days as winds churned up huge seas off Java’s southern coast

Agus Maryono and Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post)
Cilacap/Mataram
Tue, May 18, 2010

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Seven dead, 11 missing in boat accidents

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even people were reported dead and another 11 missing in two seperate incidents of boats sinking over the last two days as winds churned up huge seas off Java’s southern coast.

In Cilacap, Central Java, tall waves hit the boat Mahardika on Monday morning, sweeping at least four crew members into the sea.

Aher Priyatno, chief of the coast guard at Cilacap Port, said the port had warned boats not to head to sea because of big waves.

“Only one crew member was rescued. His name is Sadimin. We have not found the other four,” he said about the crew of the Mahardika.

The day before, 10 people on Karunia drowned when the boat was capsized by strong currents as it was sailing along the Citanduy River. The remaining twenty four people on board were able to swim to
safety. Three bodies had been found as of Monday evening. The passengers had been returning from a pilgrimage to Goa Masigit Sela, Nusakambangan.

In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, the police and the local transportation office began investigating the sinking of the boat Tropical in Nare Bay, North Lombok, on Sunday, in which three people died.

The boat sank on route from Senggigi Port to the neighboring Gili islands, which are a popular tourist destination.

The Tropical was carrying 20 passengers from Pekanbaru, Riau, when it capsized in Nare Bay, 1.6 kilometers from Gili Trawangan, the farthest away of the islands.

M. Junaedi, chief of the transportation office, said the boat had been hit by a sudden strong wind and high waves.

“As the boat was capsizing, several passengers jumped into the sea and others clung onto the boat until the rescue team came over. Three of them were entrapped inside the boat, which we only realized once we had righted the boat,” he said.

The West Lombok Police have detained Tropical captain Rumawan and charged him with negligence in the incident, according to police spokesperson R. Sujoko.

The tourists onboard the Tropical were hoping to join the Hash Tourism Festival on May 15.

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