Hundreds feared dead in ferry sinking

Hundreds of passengers are feared dead today after an Indonesian ferry carrying around 850 people sank in a storm off Central Java.

An Indonesian navy commander said he feared many had died.

Col Yan Simamora said the Senopati went down at around midnight while travelling from Sumarang in Central Java to the port of Kumai in Central Kalimantan province on Borneo island.

More than 12 hours after the accident, rescue workers in ships and helicopters had found only nine survivors.

Heavy rain and waves of up to 16 feet had hampered the rescue operation, Simamora told El-shinta radio. "I'm afraid many have died."

The boat is believed to have run into trouble about 24 miles off Mandalika island, 190 miles north east of the capital Jakarta.

Slamet Bustam, an official at the Semarang port, said waves of up to 16 feet had crashed over the deck of the Senopati.

Seasonal storms have wreaked havoc across Indonesia in recent days, triggering flash floods and landslides that have killed more than 150 people and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes on Sumatra.

On Friday a vessel carrying about 100 people capsized in bad weather off the coast of north-western Sumatra, killing 31.

Today rescuers failed to reach the location of the shipwrecked ferry and local fishermen were reportedly too scared to head out into to stormy Java Sea.

More than 12 hours after the accident, rescue workers in ships and helicopters had found only nine survivors, stranded on a nearby island, he said.