21 Jul 2005

74 bodies found so far after sinking of Papua ferry

3:09 pm on 21 July 2005

The total number of bodies found after a ferry sank off the south coast of Indonesia's Papua province has reached 74.

Reuters reports that most of the bodies were discovered washed up on shores near the city of Merauke after the vessel sank in rough seas on July 7.

The head of the Merauke rescue agency, Sumpeno Yowono, said they had only managed to pull one body out of the ship wreckage.

He said that based on information from eyewitnesses and port officials, it is thought that around 100 bodies are still inside the wreckage.

Bad weather has hampered the search for survivors over the past week or two, but 15 people, including two crew members, were earlier rescued or reached shore safely.