Bakauheni, Lampung (ANTARA News) - A Search and Rescue (SAR) team on Saturday night detected the wreckage of Bahuga Jaya ferry boat that sank in Sunda Strait on Wednesday.

The wreckage of the ferry boat was detected at a depth of 76 meters below sea level, coordinator of the SAR team Saidar S Jaya said here on Sunday.

He said the wreckage moved around one kilometer away from the location where the ferry boat sank because it was carried away by under water current.

The SAR team aboard Baruna Jaya IV survey vessel detected the wreckage using underwater metal detectors called multi-beam echo sounder and side scene sonar, he said.

Shortly after the wreckage of the ill-fated ferry boat was detected, rescue teams dived into the sea to evacuate victims believed to be trapped in it, he said.

The Bahuga Jaya ferry boat sank a few miles off Bakauheni port in Lampung province early on Wednesday after colliding with Norgas Cathinka, a liquefied petroleum gas and chemical carrier operated by Norwegian shipping company I.M. Skaugen SE.

Apart from carrying hundreds of passengers, the boat also was transporting 10 motorcycles, 22 private cars, 17 minibuses, 11 pickup trucks, and 18 trucks.

The Lampung provincial police are investigating a number of crew members of the ill-fated ferry boat and the Singapore-registered tanker.

According to the Indonesian Transportation Ministry website, seven people were killed while 206 passengers survived the collision. (S012)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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