Two bodies found, six still missing after boat mishap

TWO bodies of the eight people who went missing at sea last Friday in a boating mishap between Karkar and Bagbag islands in Madang were recovered in Bogia yesterday.
Bogia MP Robert Naguri said the bodies were of a12-year-old boy and of a baby. They were found at Ambana village near Bogia Station.
Naguri said they did not know who the two were so they sent word around and were waiting for relatives to come forward.
An officer from Sumkar electorate, Bager Wamm Jr, said authorities on the ground received word from sources in Bogia and waited until Naguri confirmed the recovery of the bodies.
Wamm said 11 people had been on the dinghy that left Bagbag for Karkar when they encountered rough seas and the boat capsized, with only three survivors making it to Karkar.
“Of the two found, the mother of the infant recovered at Bogia is still missing with five others,” Wamm said.
One of the three survivors, Saul Yau, 18, from Sara village on Bagbag, said strong waves had caused the boat to capsize.
Search party leader Bul Malu said the three survivors swam about two kilometer to the shore to Mumuk Point at Kubam village, Karkar, and walked to Katom village and alerted the villagers.
Malu said all dinghies from the area immediately took part in the search.
He said they searched from Karkar’s eastern shoreline up to Kulili last Friday and did the same on Saturday and Sunday but did not find any survivors until they received news of the discovery in Bogia. Malu said, aside from the three survivors and two bodies recovered, a six-year-old girl, the infant’s mother, an intending candidate for ward one in Bagbag, a village recorder, a high school student from Anul High School on Karkar Island and a primary school student from Abisan Primary School were still missing.
Sumkar MP Chris Nangoi assisted with the search operation.
Nangoi had urged small boat operators from Karkar and Bagabag islands to take extra precautions when travelling.by sea during bad weather.