Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA) - The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) identified 19 victims of the Arim Jaya motorboat that sank in the Sumenep waters, East Java, while the bodies of three other passengers had yet to be found.

"This includes two bodies identified as five-year-old boy Rehan and nine-year-old girl Putri retrieved this morning. Both were the residents of Guwa Guwa, Raas Sub-district, Sumenep," a spokesman of the Basarnas Surabaya chapter Tholib Mahameru remarked here on Wednesday.

The first two bodies identified after the boat sank in the waters on Monday (June 17) were Zahra, 29, and Hanisah, 30, while 15 other bodies were identified last night, Mahameru noted.

"All dead victims resided on the Guwa Guwa Island, Raas Sub-district, Sumenep. After completion of the identification process at the Sumenep Hospital, this morning, the bodies were to be brought aboard two ships to Gowa Gowa Island," he reported.

The SAR 225 Widura ship will escort the two ships to the island.

The Arim Jaya motorboat, carrying onboard 61 passengers, departed from Guwa Guwa Island at 7 a.m. local time, Monday, and was en route to Kalianget Port in Sumenep, Madura Island, East Java.

The boat was struck by high waves and sank in the waters between Sapudi Island and Giliyang Island in Sumanap District at around 3 p.m. local time.

Confirmation was received on 19 passengers losing their lives, while 39 others survived, and three passengers, including an eight-year-old boy, went missing. EDITED BY INE

Related News: 17 dead, four missing as Arim Jaya ferry sinks in Madura waters

Translator: A Malik Ibrahim, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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