close
Friday March 29, 2024

Hunt for 128 victims of ferry disaster on Indonesian supervolcano lake

By REUTERS
June 20, 2018

TIGARAS PORT, Indonesia: The search for victims of a ferry that sank in the lake of an ancient supervolcano crater in Indonesia will resume on Wednesday with divers and an underwater drone to scour the depths for at least 128 missing passengers.

The wooden tourist ferry sank in rough weather on Lake Toba on Sumatra island on Monday. Eighteen survivors were found that evening, but only one body was recovered, and a day long search on Tuesday was suspended having failed to account for any more. One survivor, Widya, said her family died when the boat was hit by strong waves. “There were at least five couples with two children each.

I wish I had died with my family, but I didn´t,” she told Metro TV in tears. Transportation minister Budi Karya said a team of investigators was looking into the cause of the accident. “We believe there was a waterspout that generated strong winds and waves that destabilised the boat and caused a panic,” he told reporters.

Authorities were still trying to confirm the total number of passengers, but said at least 128 people were missing, including many children. The ferry had capacity for 60 passengers but was overloaded and also carrying dozens of motorcycles, said Sri Hardianto, an transport ministry official.