Rescuers search rough Java seas for ferry survivors

REMBANG, Indonesia, Jan 2 (Reuters) Indonesia intensified today its search for survivors nearly five days after a ferry carrying more than 600 people sank off the coast off the country's main island of Java.

At least 200 passengers survived the early Saturday sinking of the Senopati Nusantara ferry, health ministry official said, but more than 400 people remained missing and local media reported at least 60 passengers were confirmed dead.

''The search and rescue efforts are focused on saving the living first. The search is concentrated on areas in East Java province until seven days after the accident date,'' Central Java province rescue coordinator Eko Prayitno told Reuters.

He said rescue efforts were being hampered by high waves and strong sea currents that were pushing the bodies of the dead and the living eastwards in the direction of Surabaya, the capital of East Java province and Indonesia's second largest city.

That means rescuers were searching along a coastline that is more than 100 miles (161 km) long, but hopes remained high for survivors. Officials said dozens of passengers had been picked up by passing ships and rescuers were also trying to reach several life rafts with people on board.

One of the survivors, a 32-year-old man with badly injured legs who gave his name as Fadlan, recounted his escape from the sinking vessel.

''I broke the windows of the deck and jumped out. It was raining hard and the waves were high. For two days I floated clinging on to foams before a fishing boat found me and transported me to a navy ship,'' he said, shortly after arriving in the Central Java port of Rembang.

According to the manifest, the Senopati Nusantara ferry was carrying 628 people, including 57 crew.

Transportation Minister Hatta Rajasa said the Japanese-built, 2,178-tonne ferry was seaworthy and had a capacity of more than 850 passengers.

The ship had been heading from Kalimantan on Borneo island to Semarang. It was the second ferry disaster in the last week of 2006 after a vessel overturned on Thursday in rough seas off Sumatra. Two people on that ferry died and 26 were missing as of late yesterday, a rescue official said.

Ships and ferries are a popular means of transport among Indonesia's 17,000 islands. However, safety standards are not always enforced, and accidents occur fairly often.

REUTERS SSC RN0948