bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

Indonesia has identified the suspected location of an overcrowded ferry that sank last week in a deep volcanic crater lake but will need international help to recover the wreck, the chief of the national search and rescue agency said Monday.
The ferry had some 200 people on board, about five times over capacity, but only 18 people including the boat’s captain survived the sinking in rough weather June 17 on Lake Toba.
The rescue agency said in a statement Sunday an object that was possibly the ferry was at a depth of 490 metres (1,607 feet).

Few bodies have been recovered and officials have said many of the dead are likely trapped inside the vessel.
Indonesian police detain ‘traumatised’ captain after ferry disaster, with almost 200 passengers now feared lost
Separately, police said four people including transport officials have been arrested on suspicion of negligence that led to the sinking.
The search agency chief, Muhammad Syaugi, said that Indonesia needs international help to recover the wreckage.
Sonar equipment from Indonesia’s navy was deployed on Friday. Divers could reach depths of only 50 metres (164 feet) in the lake’s cold and dark waters.


Anguished relatives have criticised the search effort but Syaugi defended it, saying there had been an “all out” effort.
The object believed to be the ferry is about 20 metres long and 5 metres wide, Syaugi said, consistent with its dimensions.
“We will do our best to salvage this wreck,” he said.


“Because we do not have robots, we are trying to find from other countries, but most of them have tools to lift a vessel from just 100 meters depth and the wreck must be cut first.
“For us, the most important thing is to get as many victims as possible.”
At least four people dead, 11 more missing after ferry sinks in Philippines
Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, with weak enforcement of safety regulations often to blame.
Lake Toba, formed out of an ancient super volcano, is a popular sightseeing destination on the island of Sumatra and among the destinations that Indonesia’s government is promoting as a magnet for domestic and foreign tourists.
North Sumatra police chief Paulus Waterpau said that the boat’s captain and three regional transport officials including the head of the port authority at Lake Toba and the head of North Sumatra province’s transport office were arrested.
“We’ve arrested them because of negligence that resulted in people losing their lives,” he said.
Survivors have said the boat began shaking as it struggled to navigate strong winds and high waves about halfway into the 40-minute trip from an island in the middle of the lake to shore.
Traditional vessels like the one in the Lake Toba disaster are often packed beyond capacity and lacking safety equipment.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse


In joining Brics, Indonesia is not suddenly anti-US or pro-China

Closer India-China ties: an unintended consequence of Trump’s tariffs threats?

Indonesia may need US$6 billion more to expand free lunch programme

Indonesia seeks a Chinese solar boom in the shadow of US tariffs

Indonesia

Indonesia identifies location of doomed Lake Toba ferry – 490 metres deep in Sumatra volcanic crater

The ferry had some 200 people on board, about five times over capacity, but only 18 people including the boat’s captain survived the sinking

Rescue team members use a rubber boat during a search operation for the missing passengers after a ferry sank earlier this week in Lake Toba in Simalungun, North Sumatra, Indonesia, June 23, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta

Relatives of the victims of the sunken ferry wait for news as search operations continue. Photo: EPA

Indonesian police detain ‘traumatised’ captain after ferry disaster, with almost 200 passengers now feared lost

The packed ferry went down on Monday in the 500-metre-deep Lake Toba, and only 18 people have been rescued

Local government officials guard coffins used for victims of a ferry that capsized on June 18, in front of a hospital morgue in Simalungun, in the province of North Sumatra on June 20, 2018. Nearly 180 passengers are missing after a ferry sank into the depths of a volcanic lake in Indonesia, police said on June 20, almost tripling initial estimates. / AFP PHOTO / JON NST

Relatives of the victims of a ferry that sank in Lake Toba, cry as they wait for news, at Tigaras port in Simalungun on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The ferry had some 200 people on board, about five times over capacity, but only 18 people including the boat’s captain survived the sinking
