A ferry carrying more than 800 people, which ran aground off the coast of Indonesia for two days, was able to complete its voyage on Thursday, the Indonesian Navy said.
“After tireless efforts, the KM Sirimau ferry was opened at 12:00 (04:00 GMT) and is currently heading to the nearest port of Liolip in the south of the Indonesian archipelago, said the head of the local naval base, Doi Yuga. , AFP reported. The ferry KM Sirimau, carrying 784 passengers and 55 crew members, ran aground after a 184-kilometer voyage in East Nusa Tenggara province.
The passengers were not immediately rescued by the rescue teams as they redoubled their efforts to free the entire ferry. The locomotive sent by PT Pelni to the area on Thursday managed to free the ferry after waiting for the tide.
The ferry headed to the port on Luliba Island for a security check before resuming its journey to Momiri on Flores Island. “Thank God, the ferry is now free and returning to Llloliba. We are almost there,” Ita Tatting, who was on the ferry, told AFP.
Accidents at sea in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, are frequent and its inhabitants depend on ferries and other boats to get around despite inadequate safety standards. About 160 people died in 2018 when a ferry sank in one of the deepest lakes in the world on the island of Sumatra. More than 300 people drowned in 2009 when a ferry between Sulawesi and Borneo sank.
