Photograph: EPA/NATIONAL SEARCH AND RESCUE AGENCY
JAKARTA,
Indonesia (AP) — A collision between a Vietnamese freighter and an Indonesian
sailboat off Indonesia's East Java province left three people dead and 12
others missing, Indonesia's search and rescue agency said Sunday. The cargo
ship MV Thaison 4 and the KM Mulya Sejati, which was carrying 27 people, collided
before dawn Saturday off Tuban district, said the head of the local Disaster
Mitigation Agency, Joko Loediyono.
Media reports
cited witnesses as saying the Indonesian boat capsized after being hit from
behind by the freighter, which is now being moored in Lamongan town for
investigation. The freighter, loaded with tapioca flour, was reportedly heading
to Tanjung Perak seaport in East Java's capital, Surabaya.
All of the
victims were from the Indonesian boat, and 12 were rescued and rushed to a
hospital for examination. On Sunday afternoon, rescuers discovered three bodies
by the stern of the ship, said the National Search and Rescue Agency, known as
BASARNAS.
A search for
the missing was underway with the help of the navy, which deployed two warships
to join a helicopter from BASARNAS, Loediyono said. Sea accidents are common in
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, where boats are a popular
and relatively cheap form of transportation.
Rescue crews were
searching Sunday for 12 fishermen who went missing following a collision
between a Vietnamese freighter and an Indonesian fishing boat in the Java Sea.
Three bodies were found when
Indonesian search and rescue teams arrived at the KM Mulya Sejati, which
capsized after it was hit by Vietnamese-flagged MV Thaison off East Java
province early Saturday, the Antara state news agency reported.
Twelve of the 27 people on
board the KM Mulya Sejati have been rescued, the agency reported citing local
authorities.
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