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JAKARTA - The death toll after a ship carrying Australia-bound immigrants sank off the coast of Indonesia on Saturday evening has risen to at least 95, officials said on Friday. Around 100 people remain missing.
The migrant ship, which according to investigators was heading to Australia's Christmas Island, was overloaded with around 250 people on board, including immigrants from Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. It had been designed to carry a maximum of 100 passengers.
As of Friday afternoon, the death toll stood at 95 while 48 others have been rescued and around 100 people are believed to remain missing. A number of bodies were washed away and drifted to Banyuwangi and Bali waters, which are up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) away from the scene of the accident. Navy bases, meanwhile, have been ordered to collect the bodies.
In addition, Indonesian National Police announced that four suspects allegedly responsible for the people smuggling incident have been identified. Two of them were allegedly linked by providing the boat, while two others are suspected of having worked as cabin crew.
National Police spokesman Saud Usman Nasution identified the boat owners as only BS and M bin Lee, and the two cabin crew members as R and RS. According to the spokesman, all four of them are military officers and the case will be handed over to the military police for proper investigations.
The immigrant ship capsized on late Saturday evening after being hit by strong waves off Prigi in East Java, about 90 kilometers (55.9 miles) off the coast.
According to media reports, only 25 life jackets were on board the boat and crew members and passengers fought to get them. Crew members managed to obtain at least six of the life jackets and fled while passengers attempted to use pieces from the boat to prevent themselves from drowning.
Several boats and helicopters have been assisting in the search and rescue effort, which has been made difficult by bad weather and high waves.
It is not uncommon for asylum-seeking immigrants to travel through Indonesia in their attempts to reach Australia. Last month, an overloaded vessel carrying an estimated 60 to 100 people sank in bad weather and rough seas off the coast of western Java. Indonesian naval forces rescued at least 47 people, but an unknown number remained missing.
And in the beginning of November, Indonesian authorities arrested eleven Afghan and Turkish illegal immigrants traveling in a vehicle in Ponorogo, East Java. Ponorogo police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Yudha Gustawan said they were suspected of trying to reach Australia, but they were arrested when, police say, they lacked proper immigration documents.
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