JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 10 (NNN-ANTARA) – One body has been recovered, while a search and rescue mission for 16 missing crews is expanded to coastal areas, after a cargo boat went down in waters off central Indonesia, a rescuer said today (Monday).
The cargo boat, KM Lintas Timur, with all 18 crews on board sank on June 1, and one of the crews, Yakob A.N., was rescued alive four days later by an Indian ship, who informed about the accident, according to the search and rescue office, in the provincial capital of Palu Basrano.
The Rescuer said, there is a possibility that some crews had reached coastal areas and survived, with the current movement heading towards land.
“Therefore in our efforts to look for the missing, we have also included and coordinated with sailors and security apparatus in coastal areas, to find out if any crew has come ashore. I am sanguine that there is still a possibility that the missing crews are still alive,” Basrano, said.
Still, the rescue operation was hampered by huge waves of up to two metres high and torrential rains, as the visibility becomes short, he said.
The search and rescue operation involves a plane, a helicopter, and several ships, according to him.
Boat is an effective and favorite means of transportation in the vast-archipelagic nation, which is home to over 17,500 islands. However, the crews have not often fully lived up to the safety standard, which endangers the journey at sea.– NNN-ANTARA
