500 missing after ferry sinks

? Navy ships scoured the rough Java Sea today in search of survivors from a ferry that sank in a storm off central Indonesia, leaving more than 500 people missing, officials said.

More than a day after the accident, 109 survivors had been rescued, Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa told reporters in Semarang late Saturday. The ferry is thought to have had 638 passengers, Radjasa said. No bodies have been recovered, but some survivors reported seeing fellow passengers slip beneath the waves.

The Senopati Nusantara had been on a 48-hour trip to Java from Borneo island when 15-foot waves crashed over the deck, said Slamet Bustam, an official at Semarang port, the ferry’s destination.

Witnesses reported seeing lifeboats with more survivors and most people had donned life jackets.

Indonesia’s tropical waters are between 72 Fahrenheit and 84 Fahrenheit, and people have been known to survive days at sea.

Survivors said the boat – pounded by heavy waves for more than 10 hours – capsized late Friday night.

“The crew kept saying ‘relax, relax,’ but it was clear the ship was not stable,” Irfan Setiawan told Metro TV station. “It suddenly veered to one side and the TV and fridges fell over.”

A sinking ship survivor, center, is assisted by rescuers to climb off a fishing boat that rescued her late Saturday at a port in Rembang, Central Java, Indonesia. Navy ships searched into the night for survivors of a passenger ship that sank off Java island Saturday leaving more than 500 people missing.

He said a piece of debris hit him and he sank with the ship, aface and climbed into a lifeboat.

Others clung to pieces of wood or swam to nearby islands.

Another survivor, Budi Susilo, said he saw three people drown after losing their grip on an overturned raft.

“We told them to hold on, but they ran out of energy,” he told reporters.

Four naval ships, several other vessels and at least two aircraft have been searching the ship’s last reported position, but poor visibility and stormy seas hindered their effort.

Officials said the car ferry, built in Japan in 1990, had a capacity of 850 passengers and had been in good condition.

They said bad weather likely caused the accident.

“We all just prayed as the waves got higher,” said passenger Cholid, who survived by clinging to wooden planks.

“I was going upstairs to try to help my daughter, but the ship suddenly broke up and I was thrown out. I lost her,” said Cholid, who gave a single name.

This picture, taken in 1990, shows Indonesian ferry Senopati

Worried family members gathered at the main office of ferry operator PT Prima Fista, weeping and demanding details about the fate of their loved ones.

“I am waiting for my mother, auntie, sister and nephew who were on their way to celebrate New Year’s Eve at my house,” said Yulis, 25.

Ferries are a main mode of transportation in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands with 220 million people.