PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO INSTRUCTS SEARCH FOR SUNKEN BOAT VICTIMS

Makassar, Jan 12 (ANTARA) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed the transportation minister and other parties concerned to search for victims of the boat that sank off the West Sulawesi coast early Sunday with more than 250 people on board.
"The search will be coordinated by the director general of tranportation and the Navy Main Base VI," Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Jamal said after receiving a report from the chief of the Navy Main Base VI, Commodore Ignatius Dadie Surarto, at Sultan Hasanuddin airport here on Monday evening.
According to procedures, an intensive search would be carried out for seven days and focus will be put on searching victims who are still alive, he said.
He said he had come here to inspect the equipment and preparedness of rescue teams and he would also coordinate with state-owned oil company Pertamina with regard to fuel needs for the operation.
He said a team from the National Commission for Transportation Safety would arrive here and later proceed to the site of the incident in West Sulawesi.
Commodore Dadiek Surarto in his report said the Navy had deployed four warships to help find survivors.
In their efforts the navy ships were also assisted by two commerical boats from the Transportation Ministry, namely KN Alugara and KN Mengkara and also several other motor boats, such as KM Samalona, KM Queen Soya, KM Samarinda Express, KM Katila and KM Umsini.
"We are also helped by hundreds of fishermen's boats operating around the waters," he said.
The Navy has also deployed two aircraft to observe from air while the airforce has deployed two Boeings.
The air and sea fleets complete the Army team stationing on the ground in Pare-Pare.
Dadiek said that 19 passengers and four crew members of the ill-fated boat had been rescued. "One of the saved crew members is the boat's skipper who is now being questioned by the police in Pare-Pare," he said.
No dead victims had so far been found by the rescue teams.