SEMINYAK ~ Rescue teams searched on Friday for nine missing people after fishermen found eight survivors of a boat accident off the southern coast of easternmost Papua province, reports said.

Merauke search and rescue team leader Sumpeno Yuwono told Elshinta radio that the eight survivors were being treated in hospital, but could not give exact coordinates for where the boat sank.

“Two boat crew members and six passengers were found by fishermen in the early hours of Thursday morning,” Yuwono said, adding that the boat was about 20 meters long and had been carrying building materials.

Earlier reports, quoting local police, said that the boat had sunk after hitting a coral reef 400 kilometers northwest of the city of Merauke in the province.

Yuwono said bad weather had been hindering rescue efforts but that the search would go on for another week.

William

Managing Editor

The Bali Times