Rescuers find bodies from Finschhafen ferry disaster

RESCUERS searching for survivors from the mv Rabaul Queen said they had found five bodies and that the search would go on for about 100 still missing.
Planes, ships and helicopters had been mobilised to search for survivors from the Rabaul Queen, which sank in rough weather last Thursday with an estimated 350 people on board.
Capt Nurur Rahman, of the National Maritime Safety Authority, said the number of confirmed survivors stood at 246.
“The search is continuing,” he said by telephone early yesterday.
“We are searching for survivors but now we have picked up four bodies and no survivors.” A fifth body had been found since.
Rahman said he remained optimistic, given the relatively warm water, that more survivors would be found.
The ship’s owner, Rabaul Shipping, had said it was unclear why the 47m ferry sank.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill had promised a full investigation into the tragedy, which occurred off the country’s northeast coast.
Relatives and co-workers of the disaster victims said the vessel’s owners must be held accountable.
A large crowd gathered outside Lae’s Angau Memorial Hospital where there was mounting frustration over the lack of information on survivors and search effort.
One man shouted in Tok Pisin that he wanted to go to the Lae office of Starship’s parent company, Rabaul Shipping, to “make them do something”.
Pastor Kave Tau said he was waiting for word on two co-workers from Goroka University and three students from the Eastern Highlands Bible School.