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Papua New Guinea: Many rescued after ferry sinks | Papua New Guinea: Many rescued after ferry sinks |
(about 2 hours later) | |
More than 230 people have been rescued from the sea off Papua New Guinea's northern coast after a ferry sank with up to 350 on board, officials say. | |
A search operation is under way. Rescuers say they are hopeful of finding more survivors . | |
The ferry sank east of Lae, the South Pacific country's second-largest city, some 10 miles (16km) from shore. | |
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said everything would be done to establish the cause of the accident. | |
"We will leave no stone unturned," he said. | |
"We cannot afford to continue to lose our people's lives. Sea transport is one of the most important forms of transportation in the country." | |
Australia PM Julia Gillard earlier said the incident was a "major tragedy" and that the authorities were urgently trying to find out if any Australians were on board. | |
An Australian maritime safety authority spokeswoman said that so far 238 survivors had been recovered. | |
Capt Nurur Rahman, from the National Maritime Safety Authority, said he was hopeful of finding more people alive in the tropical waters. | |
"People have survived for up to two days,'' he told the Associated Press news agency. | |
He added that the number of people who were on board may be lower than previously reported - at about 300. | |
The MV Rabaul Queen, operated by PNG company Star Ships, was travelling between the towns of Kimbe and Lae when it sent out a distress signal in early on Thursday. | |
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is assisting the country's authorities, has confirmed that the vessel sank approximately 16km (9.9 miles) off Finschhafen. | |
Eight ships and three helicopters assisted in the rescue efforts and three Australian fixed-wing aircraft were also sent, says the BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Sydney. | |
A Star Ships spokesman told AFP news agency that "bad weather" was believed to have sunk the ship. | |
Star Ships is one of Papua New Guinea's biggest ship operators. | |
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