At least 200 people survived the sinking of an Indonesian ferry, the health ministry said today, even as body bags were being prepared for victims and more than 400 remained unaccounted for.
Although confirmed deaths were in single digits, officials said corpses from the disaster overnight on Friday were scattered for miles on beaches along Java's coastline, and local media have reported at least 60 bodies found.
One survivor said he was surrounded by floating bodies after the sinking and many had also gone down with the ship.
According to the manifest, the Senopati Nusantaraferry was carrying 628 people, including 57 crew. The ship had been heading from Kalimantan on Borneo island to Semarang.
The number of survivors was at least 200, according to Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry crisis centre.
Those numbers could go up as officials say some survivors have been picked up by ships headed for different ports and that life rafts with people aboard have been spotted but not reached. Huge waves have hampered rescue operations.
Television channel SCTV showed Indonesian air force crew dropping food for some survivors who were still afloat but hadn't been reached by rescue vessels because of high waves.