40 more bodies recovered in Indonesian boat accident, death toll reaches 63

Published December 24, 2015
Rescuers carry the body of a victim of the sunken ferry Marina Baru at Tobaku port. —Reuters
Rescuers carry the body of a victim of the sunken ferry Marina Baru at Tobaku port. —Reuters
Bodies of victims of the sunken ferry Marina Baru are seen laid out at Tobaku port in Kolaka Utara. —Reuters
Bodies of victims of the sunken ferry Marina Baru are seen laid out at Tobaku port in Kolaka Utara. —Reuters

MAKASSAR: Rescuers recovered 40 more bodies on Thursday from waters in central Indonesia, raising the confirmed death toll from the weekend sinking of a passenger boat to 63. Fifteen people are still missing.

The Marina Baru 2B, carrying 118 passengers and crewmen, sank in the Gulf of Bone on Saturday while on its way from Kolaka in Southeast Sulawesi province to Siwa town in South Sulawesi province.

The fiberglass ferry reportedly was overwhelmed by waves more than 3 meters (10 feet) high during stormy weather.

The head of the local disaster mitigation agency, Alamsyah, revised the number of survivors to 40, saying one person had been counted twice.

Indonesian search and rescue team members carry a dead body to shore in Kolaka. —AFP
Indonesian search and rescue team members carry a dead body to shore in Kolaka. —AFP

Most of the survivors were pulled out Sunday while the last one was the boat's captain, who was found Monday snagged on a fishing platform, said Alamsyah, who uses a single name.

Operational chief of South Sulawesi's Search and Rescue Agency Deden Ridwansyah said all but one of the bodies recovered Thursday were found intact.

Ridwansyah said the search for the remaining 15 missing would be carried out until Saturday.

Boats are a popular form of transportation in Indonesia's 17,000 islands, but overcrowding and poor safety enforcement make accidents common.

Indonesian rescuers recover the dead body of a baby during an operation in the Sulawesi sea, near Kolaka. —AFP
Indonesian rescuers recover the dead body of a baby during an operation in the Sulawesi sea, near Kolaka. —AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
Updated 06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

If the judiciary had the power to self-regulate, it ought to have exercised it instead of involving the legislature.
Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....