Hundreds feared dead as refugee vessel sinks

Jakarta, June 29: Hundreds of people were feared dead today after an overloaded Indonesian passenger ship carrying refugees escaping religious violence in the eastern Moluccan islands sank in rough seas, officials said.

Rescue efforts, which began some three hours after the ship went down around 1 p.m. local time, were suspended at nightfall and were to resume at daybreak tomorrow, said an official at the national search and rescue office in Jakarta.

Maritime officials said they feared hundreds of people on board may have drowned when the ship sank, noting that the vessel's maximum capacity was 270 passengers.

- DPA

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