100 feared trapped in sunken ferry

100 feared trapped in sunken ferry

About 100 people are feared trapped inside a ferry that sank in rough weather off Papua New Guinea; a rescue official said on Friday, a day after the crowded boat went down with about 350 people on board.

Battling strong winds and high seas, merchant ships backed by Australian rescue aircraft returned on Friday, to search for survivors where the MV Rabaul Queen sank off the South Pacific's nation's northeast coast.

Scores of people were rescued from the sea after the ferry was hit by three large waves and quickly sank, Rony Naigu, a rescue official from Papua New Guinea's maritime safety authority, said.

While a definitive passenger list was not available, rescuers believed 352 people were on board the ferry when it sank and about 100 people were thought to have been trapped inside.

According to Naigu, "We think about 100 didn't get out in time....Those are the numbers we are working to now,".

Sunken ship

Naigu, said survivors told how the ferry rolled and sank in deep water after it was hit by the waves in stormy conditions.

Scores of passengers survived in life-crafts and by clinging to debris before being picked up by at least six merchant vessels that diverted to the scene by Australian maritime safety authorities.

"We found a number of (opened liferaft) capsules with no people in them," Naigu said.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said that about 250 people had been rescued and transferred to Lae, the provincial capital and the ferry's original destination.

Reuters/Ehimen/Cokey