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An Indonesian police spokesperson mentioned on Thursday that the captain of a ship that capsized within the Java Sea final month has been arrested and can face prison prices for his function in an accident that killed a minimum of 78 folks.
The Virgo Transport 8 ferry was carrying 243 folks when it capsized in dangerous climate within the Java Sea on 13 September throughout a voyage from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan. Authorities mentioned 108 folks survived.
Divers have been circling the ship, battling in opposition to quick sea currents and the ship’s unstable construction, to seek for these lacking on deck.
Searchers recovered 5 our bodies from contained in the 4,277-ton ship final week, senior company official I Putu Sudayana mentioned.
The vessel saved tilting backward and forward, sharp objects have been scattered all through the wreckage, and dense gasoline concentrations and leaking gasoline have been including to the hazards, Mr Putu added.
“Due to these causes, the divers weren’t capable of get into the compartments,” he mentioned. The ship’s operator wanted to proper the ship and produce it to the floor, he added.
Nationwide police spokesperson Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko mentioned that the ship’s captain has been arrested and named a prison suspect.
Senior police official Kukuh Prabowo was quoted by state information company Antara as saying on Wednesday that the captain was suspected of violating Indonesia’s delivery legislation by knowingly crusing an unseaworthy vessel, an offence punishable by as much as 10 years in jail when it causes deaths and property injury.
Neither Wisnu nor Kukuh supplied any particulars of the alleged crimes.
The present loss of life toll from the incident is 78 folks, whereas 57 folks stay lacking, Indonesia’s search and rescue company mentioned late on Wednesday. The search is ongoing.
