Hi-tech equipment used to help search for bodies in Indonesian ferry disaster
Lake Toba is one of the world’s deepest and victims may be trapped at the bottom inside the ferry — which was overloaded and possibly operating illegally
Simalungun — On Friday, Indonesian authorities turned to cutting-edge sonar technology as they search one of the world’s deepest lakes for victims of a deadly ferry disaster. Search teams hope the equipment, on loan from Indonesia’s navy, will help find the overloaded boat which sank on Monday on Lake Toba, a picturesque tourist destination in Sumatra. Just three passengers have been confirmed dead so far, while 18 were rescued. However, official estimates list 193 others as missing, which has raised fears that many bodies are trapped inside the ferry at the bottom of the lake. The accident could be one of Indonesia’s deadliest maritime disasters. Despite a massive search operation involving some 400 personnel, the vessel has still not been located after four days. Lake Toba, which fills the crater of a super-volcano that exploded in a massive eruption tens of thousands of years ago, is 500m deep in parts, hampering the search effort. It covers some 1,145km². Sonar technology uses s...
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