JAKARTA, Jan. 2 (UPI) — Police have detained the captain of a tourist boat that caught fire, killing 23 and injuring 50, amid reports he was the first to jump from the ship.
Muhammad Nali was questioned Sunday about suspected negligence in the fire of the Zahro Express ferry that carried about 240 passengers celebrating the New Year’s holiday.
“We have detained the captain of the boat, and are now taking his statement,” Hero Hendrianto Bachtiar, Jakarta’s maritime police director, told CNN Indonesia.
Bachtiar said five other people — three crew members and two port authority staff — were also being questioned.
Antonius Tonny Budiono, director general for sea transportation at the Indonesian transport ministry, addressed reports that the captain was the first to leap off the ferry when it caught fire.
“A captain who abandons ship first is no captain at all,” he said. “A captain’s obligation is to be the last person off the ship, after all the passengers have been evacuated.”
Budiono said the captain faces severe sanctions, including the revocation of his sailing permit.
“We will revoke his license and he will be banned from sailing,” he told Tempo.co. “We will hold a hearing to find out who was the guilty party, those who have committed any error will also face punishment.”
The boat left the Muara Angke port in North Jakarta on Sunday and was headed to Tidung Island, a holiday destination in the Thousand Islands district north of Jakarta.
A short circuit on a power generator caused the fire, according to the transport ministry.
