Jakarta Police Detains Burning Ferry's Captain

JAKARTA, Jan 3 (Antara) - The Jakarta Police has questioned the captain and three crew members of a ferry carrying 238 passengers onboard, which caught fire in the waters of Seribu Island, killing 23 passengers. "The ship's captain has been detained for questioning," Director of the Jakarta Marine Police Senior Commissioner Hero Hendrianto stated here, Monday. Hero noted that the police has also questioned two officers of the Muara Angke harbor. The officers were questioned as witnesses to help the authority investigate the cause of the fire. The Ferry Zahro Express was sailing from Muara Angke to Tidung Island in North Jakarta when it caught fire on Sunday morning. The ferry left Muara Angke at 8:45 a.m. local time and caught fire in the waters of Bidadari Island, Seribu Islands, at 9 a.m. local time, some 1 nautical mile from the harbor. Until now, the death toll of the incident has reached 23. A total of 17 people were injured, and 17 others went missing. The rescue workers managed to save 194 passengers. The Disaster Victim Identification team has begun the process of identifying the dead victims, while a team of divers was sent to find the missing victims. KM Zahro Express has been towed to the Kali Adem Port for further investigation.