Indonesia ship capsize
The Foreign Ministry reported that two bodies had been found during a search for the crew of a capsized fishing ship that carried 17 Indonesian, 17 Chinese and five Philippine nationals, saying the remains had yet to be identified.
Meanwhile, with hopes that some of the crew members are still alive, the Chinese ambassador to Australia made calls to authorities in Canberra to intensify the search.
“The Foreign Ministry has spoken with the Chinese envoy in Jakarta (and found that) two bodies, suspected to be crew members, have been found. Identification of the bodies will require more time,” Judha Nugraha, the Foreign Ministry’s citizen protection director, said on Friday.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said that the Chinese fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 had been found by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday.
While it remains unclear why the boat had capsized, an AMSA statement said “weather conditions were extreme, with the passage of Cyclone Fabian that saw 120kph winds and 7m seas”.
The capsized vessel was first spotted 5,000km northwest of Perth and 1,500km south of Sri Lanka by a cargo ship before prompting a still-ongoing search and rescue operation, now also involving India, which sent reconnaissance planes to aid the mission.
“The Australian AMSA have commenced a search and rescue operation around the area, deploying their assets including an aircraft and a ship. It has also coordinated with the commercial ships sailing around the location,” Judha said on Wednesday.
Following the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang ordered diplomats abroad and the agriculture and transportation ministries, to assist in the search.
On Friday, search efforts covered an area of 12,000sq km south of where the capsized vessel was found.
The Chinese ambassador to Australia on Thursday asked authorities in Canberra to increase their efforts in the search, adding that it wanted to coordinate with “friendly countries” including Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
“We wish that they can send more aircraft, more ships and more staff.
“We wish that our Australian colleagues would coordinate with other international or foreign vessels or ships near that area to help the search and rescue to save as many lives as possible,” said Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian, as quoted by AP.
The AMSA coordinator also added that three aircraft and seven ships, some of which were Chinese navy vessels, were currently deployed for the mission, with another Sri Lankan military ship also sailing towards the area. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
