"We received reports from local fishermen at around 6am telling they found ten bodies floating around Mustika and Lutung islands," the chief of the naval post in Grajakan, deputy second lieutenant Samroni said.
Upon receiving the report he said the navy immediately prepared a team to evacuate them.
"We deployed several teams to evacuate the bodies at around 9am using three fisherman boat," he said.
He said the sea was at a low ebb causing difficulties for rescuers to evacuate the bodies.
"So far they have been able to evacuate six bodies four found in Grajakan coast and two in Rowo Biru. Around 20 bodies still have yet to be evacuated," he said.
He believed some other bodies had been carried away by waves but efforts would be continued to find them.
According to an immigration official in Jember as many as 30 bodies have been found floating in Banyuwangi waters.
"I have heard 13 of them have been evacuated while the SAR (search and rescue) workers still continued searching others," he said.
So far 47 peole have been rescued out of possibly up to 200 illegal immigrants from the Middle Eastern aboard a wooden boat that capsized in Prigi waters, Trenggalek, East Java, on Saturday on its way to Christman Island in Australia.
ANT/H-YH/O001
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
