Eight Fishermen Survived Boat Wreck In Banten Waters

Serang, Banten, Jakarta 20 (Antara) - Eight fishermen have survived after their fishing boat was wrecked by a large tide in Pulau Tunda waters, Banten on Sunday, Jan. 19. The boat was reported on its way home to Cirebon from Banten bay. `We have received information about a sinking fishing boat with eight crew members, who survived the accident, in the Tunda Island waters," stated the secretary of the Community Monitoring Group, Pokwasmas, Herman Daeng Paruka here, on Monday. Herman noted that that the boat was hit by a three meter high tide in Banten bay waters. Survivors have been evacuated to the homes of the locals in Tunda Island, while the fishing boat has been destroyed and sunk. Local fisherman Muhammad Suganda pointed out that the fishing boat sunk due to bad weather at that time. "Yes, the fishing boat is sunk, but surely, the fishermen survived and the boat has been evacuated," he explained. Suganda added that the bad weather in the last month has forced hundreds of fishermen to stay away from fishing in the sea. Several fishermen are currently switching their occupation, until the weather returns to normal. "There are hundreds of fishermen who use the under 30 GT vessels and are hence not able to go into the sea due to bad weather. They are currently forced to become porters or take up any other occupation that can help them earn their bread," he added.