12 survivors from Indonesian ferry accident found alive on oil rig

SEMARANG, Indonesia (AP) - Eleven men and a 6-year-old boy who were on an Indonesian ferry that sank last week with more than 600 other people were rescued Wednesday after climbing onto an offshore oil rig, navy officers said. The survivors, weak after spending more than four days in the Java Sea, were picked up by the Navy from the rig, some 200 kilometres from where the ferry sank after drifting in heavy waves, said Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Tony Syaiful. It was not clear when the 12 reached the unmanned rig or how they managed to stay afloat.

The 12 said little as they arrived at a port in the coastal city of Surabaya before being taken by ambulance to hospital for a checkup, witnesses said.

"I am happy I can save the life of my boy," said Suyatno, the father of the six year old.

Suyatno, who gave a single name, said his wife was still missing.

The Senopati Nusantara sank late Friday after being pounded by waves for 10 hours during a violent storm en route from Indonesia's section of Borneo island to the main island of Java.

At least 212 people have been found alive so far, most of them plucked from life-rafts or clinging on to debris, but some 400 remain missing, said Navy Col. Jan Simamora, the head of the search and rescue mission.

"We are trying our utmost to find more," Simamora said. "We still hope that those in lifeboats are still alive."

Indonesia has been wracked by seasonal storms in recent weeks that have caused deadly landslides, flooding and at least six maritime accidents in different parts of the sprawling archipelago.

Other survivors recalled the horror of the boat's last minutes and the struggle to stay alive afterward.

"I just prayed that God would give me life and thought about my 4-month-old baby," said Ribut, a plantation worker who arrived at Surabaya hospital Tuesday. He said he eat or drank nothing for three days, apart from one sip of sea water.

Evi Susilowati, a 23-year-old computer student, was the sole woman in a raft of 30 men.

She was tasked with rationing out the craft's supply of drinking and sago palm flour, which ran out after two days. On the final day, two exhausted people fell from the raft.

"We could not save them," said Susilowati, whose mother and father are still missing. "They were young men, I just hope they survive."

Bad weather has also been cited as a possible factor in the disappearance and presumed crash of a jetliner with more than 100 people on board Monday close to Sulawesi Island.

Indonesia's tropical waters are generally between 22-29 C. People have been known to survive for days at sea, but only with a buoyancy aid.

Simamora said that just a dozen bodies have been recovered so far. Officials have reported seeing some corpses in the ocean, while at least two survivors said that many of the victims were trapped in the ship when it sank.

Relatives of the missing have flocked to hospitals and ports along Java's coast, hoping their loved ones may turn up alive.

The Senopati Nusantara was built in Japan in 1992 and had a capacity of 850 people.

© The Canadian Press, 2007