Adjunct Commissioner Ade Candra, head of the East Aceh Police's Water and Air Unit, said that a joint team comprising local officials and fishermen was conducting the search.
The fishing boat MV Puega Laot had departed from Idi Port in East Aceh on Monday with 10 people on board. The crew encountered rough weather and high waves while fishing in the Malacca Strait.
At around 11:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Maersk Chilka, a Hong Kong-flagged container ship en route to Singapore, collided with the fishing boat, causing it to capsize.
Eight fishermen were rescued and brought aboard the container ship, while two others — Saiful (50) and Abdurahman (55) — remain missing, Candra said.
The rescued fishermen were identified as Muhammad Riski (25), Wahyu M. Iqbal (28), Muhammad Yudi (30), Muzakir (35), Fahmi (32), Muhamad Firdani (20), Ardiansyah (18), and Muhammad Sapawi (40).
They were transferred from Maersk Chilka to authorities in East Aceh around 3 a.m. on Thursday. Meanwhile, the search for the two missing crew members is ongoing.
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Translator: M.Haris SA, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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