Log Blamed for Fatal Sinking of Kalimantan Ferry

At least 18 passengers on a fully-loaded ferry that sunk on East Kalimantan’s Mahakam River were missing and feared dead on Friday evening, police said, with a collision with a log on the river the suspected cause of the capsizing.

“There are in total three deaths. ... The number missing is 18,” said Sukarja, the head of the Mahakam Ulu port in Samarinda, the provincial capital.

The KM Surya Indah had 98 people on board when it capsized at the stretch of the river near Seblang village late on Thursday. One body and 76 survivors were rescued, district police chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Suparno said.

Sukarja said police, soldiers and residents were searching the river for survivors or bodies, using divers, speedboats and rubber boats.

Suparno said rescuers were continuing to search for the missing.

“We are still focused on finding the victims and we are looking in the location around the site of the accident,” Suparno said.

He added that the skipper and other crew members were among the survivors.

The KM Surya Indah regularly plies the route between Samarinda and towns in the regency of West Kutai along the Mahakam River. It was reported to have sunk at 11 p.m. on Thursday.

Sukarja said the ship had been bound for Melak, West Kutai, 350 kilometers inland from Samarinda.

“The ship was made in 2001 and is really seaworthy. According to the boat manifest, the passengers only numbered 40 and there were 10 tons of goods,” he said.

Boats usually take on board more passengers along the way. Sukarja said there were three other unofficial ports that the boat had stopped at to take on passengers and goods.

The ferry had the capacity to transport 96 passengers and 40 tons of cargo. It left the Mahakam Ulu terminal in Samarinda at 7 p.m. on Thursday and was scheduled to arrive at Melak on Friday at 1 a.m.

Sukarja said he was only informed of the capsize on Friday morning. He said he was informed that the boat had sunk four hours after leaving for Melak.

He said that the preliminary suspicion was that the boat had hit a log floating adrift on the Mahakam. “This is still a preliminary estimate, that the ship was hit by a large log, a collision strong enough to capsize the ship,” he said.

Overcapacity has been blamed for other boat capsizing incidents across the country. Last month, nine are suspected to have died after a boat carrying 325 tons of basic staples sank off the coast of Aceh.

The boat, KM Artika, which carried nine crew members including the captain, only had capacity to carry materials weighing 200 tons.

A bridge collapse on the Mahakam last year caused dozens of deaths.

Saturday 15 September 2012

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