"The ill-fated vessel carried 72 people, including 12 crew members," he said.
According to the manifest issued by Slamet Riyadi port in Ambon, the vessel carried 27 passengers, 12 crew members, and 39 tons of cargoes, or 50 percent of its carrying capacity, he said.
The vessel left Ambon, capital of Maluku province, on Saturday (June 16) at 09.30 p.m. and sank in the waters of Tiga Island, Maluku Tengah district, early on Sunday (June 17).
"So the number of passengers has been reported to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Maluku governor, the commander of the Ambon naval base IX, the chief of the Pattimura regional military command, the chief of the Maluku provincial police and the director of water police at the Maluku provincial police," he said.
He said the Search and Rescue team had expanded the search for victims of the capsized ship to North Seram in Maluku Tengah district, Buru, Manipa and Kelang islands in Seram Bagian Barat district. However, the search did not find any survivors.
"We are still intensifying our search as a large number of victims have not been found," he said.
Secretary of the Maluku Provincial Disaster Mitigation Board (BPBD) Kifly Wakanno said the Buru Selatan district administration was also mobilizing a number of fishing boats to search for victims.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
