At Least 37 Reported Dead as Ferry Sinks

An overloaded ferry carrying more than 100 passengers sank off Ambon island, killing at least 37, a senior police official and news reports said. Rescuers found 37 bodies where the ferry went down in the Banda Sea, Brig. Gen. Dewa Astika said. The Jakarta Post daily reported that local residents and officials had rescued 85 people. The overloaded ferry Masnait went down after being swamped by two large waves near the Maluku provincial capital of Ambon, the official Antara news agency said. The ferry was sailing to a neighboring island from Ambon, which is about 1,500 miles east of Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.