SIXTEEN MISSING AFTER BOAT COLLISION NORTH OF JAKARTA

Jakarta, March 6 (ANTARA) - A cargo vessel collided with a barge in Kepulauan Seribu waters north of Jakarta in the wee hours of Thursday causing the disapearance of 16 people.

"A search and rescue team is still searching for the missing people," the chief administrator of Tanjung Priok port, Bobby R Mamahit, said here on Thursday.
He said the scene of the collision was around 12 miles from Jakarta. The cargo vessel with 27-man crew sank after the incident.
"Eleven of the crew have been saved but 16 others are still missing," he said.
He believed the missing crew were still in the vessel. "It seems they were trapped in the vessel," he said.
Bobby said according to reports the KM Rimba left Tanjung Priok port at 23.00 hours for Belawan in Medan, North Sumatra. While it was passing through Damar Island waters, KM Harapan Indah appeared from the opposite direction on its way to Marunda and the two boats collided heads on.
"KW Rimba sank right away after the collision in 30-meter-deep waters," he said.
The search and rescue team at 4 pm discovered a three-year old baby, later identified as Samuel, near the scene. "He was dead," he said.
He suspected the baby was the son of a crew member.
The spokesman of the National Committee for Transporation Safety (KNKT), J. A. Barata, confirmed the incident, saying his office was still conducting verification.
"We are prioritizing the search for the victims," he said. "Later, when we have received the results of the verification, we will appoint the right persons to investigate it," he said.