Missing Moluccas ferry found

Only 10 people survived June's ferry disaster

A ferry carrying at least 66 people which went missing between Indonesia's riot-torn Moluccas and nearby Sulawesi has been found.

Rescue officials said the 35-ton Supera 1 was discovered stranded about 24 miles north of Sulawesi after its engine broke down.

The ship's disappearance had triggered fears it might have sunk, following a disaster last June when almost 500 people drowned when their ferry went down on an almost identical route.

Many of the passengers had been fleeing religious fighting between Christians and Muslims in Halmahera, in the North Moluccas.

Only a handful of survivors were found. They were plucked from the ocean after days clinging to debris.

The Supera I, which has no radio on board, was transporting logging workers, their families and around six policemen.

The ship, which left Halmahera on Saturday, had been expected to arrive in Bitung, 180 miles to the west, on Sunday.

Police

Reports said it was unclear why members of the elite police mobile brigade, known as Brimob, were on board the vessel.

On Tuesday, the Jakarta Post reported that 131 Brimob members had been declared deserters after fleeing fierce fighting in the Moluccan capital Ambon in late June.

Indonesia has thousands of army and police personnel in the Moluccas, but they have failed to halt the violence.

Around 4,000 people have been killed in 19 months of religious violence in the region.