Eight reportedly die as boat sinks in Sunda Strait

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Wed, September 26 2012,


Eight passengers aboard the seagoing vessel KM Bahuga Jaya reportedly died after the boat sank in the Sunda Strait, four miles from Bakauheni port, on Wednesday morning. Scores of people have been rescued.

“Temporary data indicates that eight people were reportedly killed,” Togar Napitupulu, the head of water transportation businessmen’s association, said as quoted by tempo.co on Wednesday.

The boat, carrying hundreds of passengers and dozens of vehicles, was en route from Merak Port in Banten to Bakauheni Port in Lampung when it reportedly crashed into an oil tanker at around 5 a.m. and sank.

Togar said that association members had deployed all RORO (roll on, roll off) ships docking at the Bakauheni Port to evacuate the victims.

Some 208 passengers have been evacuated from the waters using eight boats, according to kompas.com. Some of the survivors were immediately taken to Krakatau Medika hospital in Cilegon, Banten.