63 Missing, 5 Dead in Boat Accident in Indonesia

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 05, 2002

63 Missing, 5 Dead in Boat Accident in Indonesia

At least 63 passengers were missing after an overcrowded passenger ferry sank off Ambon island, in the eastern part of Indonesia, on Sunday, Detikcom online news service reported Tuesday.

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At least 63 passengers were missing after an overcrowded passenger ferry sank off Ambon island, in the eastern part of Indonesia, on Sunday, Detikcom online news service reported Tuesday.

The ferry went down 15 minutes after leaving port late Sunday.

The missing passengers were believed to have been trapped inside the ferry, which had sunk 250 meters below the sea surface and only 500 meters away from the nearest port. Five people have been confirmed dead in the accident.

The Masohi Star ferry officially carried 150 people but around 100 more were on board without tickets, according to Buyung Lalana,a member Indonesia's marine corps who leads the rescue team.

Ferry captain La Aja is now under the police custody along with three other suspects. Preliminary investigation found that La Aja was drunk when he drove the ferry.

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