Seventeen missing in Indonesia fishing boat, cargo ship collision

A collision between a cargo ship and a fishing boat left 17 people missing off Indonesia's main island of Java, officials said Sunday.

The fishing boat with 32 aboard capsised after hitting the Indonesian bulk carrier MV Habco Pioneer late Saturday off Indramayu district, said the head of the Search and Rescue Agency, Deden Ridwansyah.

Divers have, meanwhile, been scouring the waters of the Java Sea. Fifteen crew of the fishing boat were evacuated after Saturday's crash, but five divers are searching for the remaining 17, Yusuf Latif, the spokesman of the agency, Basarnas, said in a statement.

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The cargo ship, which was loaded with crude oil from Borneo island, was moored after its propeller got caught in the fishing net.

The crash happened at 0930 GMT, Yusuf said. The other vessel was the bulk carrier Habco Pioneer, which has a capacity of nearly 30,000 tonnes. Both vessels are Indonesia-flagged.

There were no reports of casualties or missing crew on the Habco Pioneer, owned by tugboats and barges company PT Habco Primatama.