he Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BP3TKI) West Nusa Tenggara is ready to facilitate the return of migrant workers from the province who were victims of a boat accident in Batam waters, Riau Islands, an official has said.
“We will help return Indonesian migrant workers that survived and were killed in the accident, to their families in their hometowns,” said BP3TKI NTB head Mucharrom in Mataram on Thursday.
He said information obtained by his agency revealed 34 people survived the incident, 22 of whom were from Lombok Island while 12 others were residents of Aceh, East Java, East Nusa Tenggara, Medan in North Sumatra, and Padang in West Sumatra.
(Read also: NTB to identify victims of Batam boat accident)
As reported earlier, a boat carrying 98 passengers, comprising illegal Indonesian migrant workers and their families, and three crew members sank in Tanjung Bembang waters, Nongsa, Batam, early on Wednesday.
The latest data obtained by the West Nusa Tenggara Social Affairs, Population and Civil Registration on Thursday revealed 31 people were reportedly killed in the accident, up from the 18 reported earlier.
Riau Islands Police chief Brig. Gen. Sambudi Gusdian said earlier there was still confusion about the passengers on board the boat when it sank in Nongsa waters because there was no passenger manifest.
The boat departed from Selingi, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, at around 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday. The boat capsized when it was struck by a large wave off Tanjung Bembang, around two hours after it set sail. (ebf)
Fadli contributed to this story from Batam, Riau Islands.
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