Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Nine people remain missing after a ship sank in Papua

Posted at 02:21 on 08 February, 2008 UTC

Rescue workers in Indonesia’s Papua are continuing their search for nine people who had been on a ship which sank near Merauke on Wednesday.

Police say the MV Ratna Utama had been carrying 17 people on its way to Kepi when it sank after hitting coral east of Habe Isle.

The Jakarta Post newspaper reports that eight people on board the vessel have already been rescued by the MV Indo Lautan and rushed to a hospital in Merauke.