Rescuers find bodies from Papua New Guinea ferry disaster

Life rafts carrying survivors float on rough waters after the MV Rabaul Queen ferry sank off Papua New Guinea February 2, 2012. About 100 people are feared trapped inside a ferry that sank in rough weather off Papua New Guinea, a rescue official said on Friday, a day after the crowded boat went down with about 350 people on board. Rescuers plucked 238 people from the sea off Papua New Guinea's northeast coast after the MV Rabaul Queen was hit by three large waves and quickly sank, Rony Naigu, a rescue official from Papua New Guinea's maritime safety authority, said on Friday. Picture taken February 2, 2012. REUTERS/Papua New Guinea Post Courier (PAPUA NEW GUINEA - Tags: DISASTER MARITIME TRANSPORT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) MANDATORY CREDIT
Image by: STRINGER / REUTERS

Rescuers searching for survivors after a heavily laden ferry sank off Papua New Guinea said on Saturday they had found four bodies and that the search would go on for about 100 still missing.

Planes, ships and helicopters have been mobilised to search for survivors from the MV Rabaul Queen, which sank in rough weather on Thursday with an estimated 350 people on board.

Captain Nurur Rahman, of the country’s maritime safety authority, said the number of confirmed survivors stood at 246.

“The search is continuing,” he said by telephone. “We are searching for survivors but now we have picked up four bodies and no survivors.”

Rahman said he remained optimistic, given the relatively warm water, that more survivors would be found.

The ship’s owner, Rabaul Shipping, has said it is unclear why the 47-metre ferry sank. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has promised a full investigation into the tragedy, which occurred off the South Pacific nation’s northeast coast.

Sea transport is a major communication lifeline in the Papua New Guinea archipelago, most of whose six million people live subsistence lives in traditional villages.

- Times Live