Rescue team members prepare to search for missing passengers at the Lake Toba ferry port. — AFP photo
SIMALUNGUN, Indonesia: As many as 192 passengers could be missing after a ferry sank into the depths of a volcanic lake in Indonesia, the search-and-rescue agency said yesterday, tripling initial government estimates.
But the agency’s head cautioned that it was still unclear how many people were aboard the vessel when it capsized Monday in Lake Toba, a popular tourist destination on Sumatra island.
The traditional wooden boat may have been operating illegally with no manifest or passenger tickets, sparking confusion and a string of changing official passenger estimates.
Lela Supiyanti, cries for her daughter, a passenger on the KM Sinar Bangun ferry which sank yesterday in Lake Toba, at Tigaras port in Simalungun, North Sumatra. — Reuters photo
Indonesia’s disaster agency originally said some 80 people along with dozens of motorcycles were on the overloaded, 43-passenger capacity vessel when it overturned and sank.
So far, four bodies have been found and another 18 people rescued, according to the agency.
By yesterday, the official number of missing had jumped several times to 192 passengers.
Authorities based the figures on reports from families whose missing relatives may have been on the doomed vessel, but their accounts are difficult to verify. If confirmed, it would be one of Indonesia’s deadliest maritime disasters.
“Many people got on the boat without a ticket so it’s unclear how many were on board,” Muhammad Syaugi, the head of the search and rescue agency, told AFP.
Later at a press conference, Syaugi added: “There are many people who have reported their relatives missing, but whether they were on the boat or not we don’t know.”
The search has now turned to recovering bodies – including those that may still be trapped inside the sunken boat.
“We’ll be here until they find my brother’s body,” said Nurhayati, among hundreds of grief-stricken people waiting by the shore for updates.
“We just want to see his body and take him with us.”
Sobbing mother Suwarni pleaded for news of her son and his fiancé, both believed to have been on board.
“Why are the rescue teams so slow?” said the 55-year-old, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
“I’m so disappointed – there’s no progress here. Please bring back my son.”
Authorities have deployed divers and underwater vehicles, along with about 400 personnel, to search the enormous lake in an operation expected to last at least a week.
The rescue agency has said it plans to search as deep as 400 metres for the sunken vessel.
Images from the scene Wednesday showed rescuers covering up the bloated body of a woman who had washed ashore.
It was not clear if any foreigners were on board the ferry or what caused the disaster.
Traditional vessels – like the one in the Lake Toba disaster – are rarely equipped with enough life preservers and their condition can be dire.
Enforcement of safety standards also tends to be weak, underscoring Indonesia’s woeful boat safety record.
In 2015, a ferry sank off the coast of the island of Sulawesi, leaving 78 dead or missing.
More than 300 people are estimated to have drowned in 2009 when a ferry sank between Sulawesi and Borneo. — AFP