Coronavirus: Indonesia ferry passengers jump into sea amid infection fears

Passengers flung themselves into the sea and swam ashore as officials sought to block the vessel from docking due to fears of suspected virus cases

The ferry was carrying 255 passengers, mostly migrant workers returning home from Malaysia

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Passengers aboard the Indonesian ferry, which was blocked when trying to make port in Maumere. Photo: Facebook

Published: 6:35am, 9 Apr 2020Updated: 6:35am, 9 Apr 2020

Several passengers on an Indonesian ferry jumped into the sea and swam ashore after authorities sought to block the vessel from docking due to fears of suspected coronavirus cases, as tensions rise over the spread of the disease across the archipelago.

The ferry travelling from via Indonesian Borneo and the island of Sulawesi was blocked when trying to make port in Maumere in the eastern island of Flores, amid fears three crew members on board had contracted the novel coronavirus.

Passengers flung themselves into the sea in life vests and swam ashore as authorities debated whether the ship, the Lambelu, would be permitted to dock, an official said.

“We ask for the passengers to cooperate with health protocols before disembarking from the ship and refrain from any actions that could be harmful,” Wisnu Handoko, an official at the transport ministry, said in a statement.

Videos shared on social media showed medical workers in protective gear carrying out tests on board the Lambelu after it was allowed to dock, before passengers were moved into quarantine on land.

The ferry was carrying 255 passengers, mostly migrant workers returning home from Malaysia, after the neighbouring country imposed a lockdown.

In a sign of growing anxiety about the spread of the coronavirus, residents in Maumere gathered at the port to protest the ship’s arrival on Tuesday.

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