Indonesia: 100 people still missing after ferry fire
Search teams hunted for up to 100 people still reported missing today in a ferry fire last week in Indonesia amid anger after the burnt-out vessel capsized with journalists and investigators on board, killing at least one other person.
The Lavina I caught fire on Thursday early into a voyage from the capital, Jakarta.
So far 42 bodies have been recovered, while 290 people survived the inferno.
Navy spokesman Lt Col Hendra Pakan said up to 100 others may still be missing based on reports by people saying they had relatives on board the ferry who had yet to contact them.
The ship’s manifest listed just 307 people on board but such passenger lists in Indonesia are rarely accurate, either due to corruption or inefficiency by port and ship officials.
“The manifest did not have a complete list of passengers,” Pakan said as seven navy vessels searched the Java Sea close to where the vessel caught alight.
Yesterday, the gutted wreckage of the vessel suddenly listed and sank with at least 16 accident investigators and journalists on board, witnesses said.
A cameraman was killed, while three others were still missing.
