17 Passengers Dead as "Jabar Nur" Ship Sinks

Jakarta (Antara) - The National Disaster Mitigation Board (BNPB) has deployed a helicopter to evacuate victims from the Jabal Nur sinking ship after 17 passengers died in north Bali Strait on Tuesday. "The Jabal Nur ship sank in Bali Strait on Tuesday (Oct 7)," the BNPB chairman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a written statement issued here on Tuesday. Of the 49 passengers on board the ill-fated ship, 17 died, and eight survived. Rescue teams are continuing to search for 24 other passengers who are still missing. According to Sutopo, one of the survivors was identified as Udin, the captain of the ship. The ship sank when it was deployed to transport a wedding party from the Port of Raas island of Madura to Puteran Village, Singaraja - Bali. (*) Reporting by Ajat Sudrajat