Putri Prameshwari
163 People Rescued in Indonesia After Ferries Run Aground
The Ministry of Transportation had its hands full on Wednesday
evacuating 163 passengers on one of two ferries that ran aground in
West Nusa Tenggara.
No fatalities or injuries were reported in
the accidents, which occurred days after two separate ferry accidents
occurred in Sumatra, one of which claimed 27 lives.
Ministry
spokesman Bambang Ervan stated on Wednesday that both the Sindhu
Dwitama and Rodita ran aground in shallow, muddy waters near the port
of Lembar in Lombok.
“All 163 passengers of the Sindhu Dwitama
were evacuated,” Bambang said. No passengers were aboard the Rodita
when it ran aground.
Bambang said both vessels had departed
from Padangbai in Bali for Lembar, where the Rodita had only just
dropped off its passengers before it ran aground.
“Even though
the incidents occurred very close to Lembar Port, it did not
significantly disrupt port operations,” he said, adding that the
ministry would launch an investigation.
Preliminary investigations, Bambang said, showed that human error was to blame.
Bambang
said that at least 49 vehicles, including 28 motorcycles, aboard the
Sindhu Dwitama had to be abandoned after the rescue operation
experienced difficulties in turbulent seas.
Wednesday’s incident comes on the back of two ferry accidents in Sumatra on Sunday.
At
least 27 people have been confirmed dead and more than a dozen others
remain missing after the Dumai Express 10 sank near Karimun Island in
Riau Islands on Sunday, possibly due to overloading. Investigations
into the incident are continuing.
In the other accident that
day, the Dumai Express 15, with 278 people aboard, ran aground as it
traveled from Batam to Moro Island, both in Riau. No injuries were
reported.
Bambang said on Wednesday that the survivors from
the Dumai Express 10 incident had all returned safely to Batam and
Dumai. The bodies of 19 victims of the disaster had also been collected
by their families.
The ministry has suspended the operations
of PT Lestari Indomal Bahari, owner of the Dumai Express 10 ferry,
pending a safety audit of its fleet.
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