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An Indonesian police spokesperson said on Thursday that the captain of a ship that capsized in the Java Sea last month has been arrested and will face criminal charges for his role in an accident that killed at least 78 people.
The Virgo Transport 8 ferry was carrying 243 people when it capsized in bad weather in the Java Sea on 13 September during a voyage from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan. Authorities said 108 people survived.
Divers have been circling the ship, battling against fast sea currents and the ship’s unstable structure, to search for those missing on deck.
(Reuters)
Searchers recovered five bodies from inside the 4,277-ton ship last week, senior agency official I Putu Sudayana said.
The vessel kept tilting from side to side, sharp objects were scattered throughout the wreckage, and dense gas concentrations and leaking fuel were adding to the hazards, Mr Putu added.
“Because of these reasons, the divers weren’t able to get into the compartments,” he said. The ship’s operator needed to right the ship and bring it to the surface, he added.
National police spokesperson Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said that the ship’s captain has been arrested and named a criminal suspect.
Senior police official Kukuh Prabowo was quoted by state news agency Antara as saying on Wednesday that the captain was suspected of violating Indonesia’s shipping law by knowingly sailing an unseaworthy vessel, an offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison when it causes deaths and property damage.
Neither Wisnu nor Kukuh provided any details of the alleged crimes.
The current death toll from the incident is 78 people, while 57 people remain missing, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said late on Wednesday. The search is ongoing.
