"For the time being, the number of dead victims reached nine personsMerak, Banten, (ANTARA News) - The death toll of KMP Laut Teduh II which caught fire in the Sunda Strait early on Friday has reached nine people, two of them children.
"For the time being, the number of dead victims reached nine persons," Indra, an officer of the Traffic Control of PT ASDP Inland Waterway Transportation Service for Merak, said here on Friday.
He said that the ill-fated ferry carried 150 passengers who came in person and 93 two in their cars, including sedans (38), buses and diesel trucks (26), and large buses.
He said evacuation was still going on until middy on Friday because it was predicted that many passengers were still trapped inside the ship.
A total of 12 ships -- five tug boats and seven roll-on-roll-off ferries -- had been mobilized to help evacuate the passengers of the ferry which caught fire in the Sunda strait early on Friday.
"All the ships are mobilized to evacuate passengers," Thomas Chandra of the Merak port management said.
He said earlier the ill-fated ferry, "KMP Laut Teduh II", was believed to carry thousands of of passengers. It left Merak port of Banten (Java) at 3.10 am for Bakauheni port of Lampung (Sumatra) on Friday when it caught fire about two miles from Merak.
A number of ambulances were standing by at Merak port waiting for the victims.
He said the victims who died or suffering from burns would be taken to Krakatau Medical Hospital in Cilegon.
In the meantime, Endin Juhaendi, operation manager of PT ASDP Inland Waterway Transportation Service for Merak, said that the victims were taken to the Krakatau Medika hospital in Cilegon, Merak Health-care center, Banten port`s Health office and the Mutiara Bunda clinic center.
"All the passengers who had been evacuated directly received medical treatment," he said.
He said that Krakatau Medika Cilegon was now providing medical treatment for five victims. They are in a critical condition.(*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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