Groom on way to his wedding in Bali drowns in boat mishap
A groom on his way to Bali to get married is among those missing after a boat sank.
The tragedy left at least least 20 dead and 24 unaccounted for, officials and friends said on Thursday.
His wife to be was not on the wooden motorboat, which went down on Monday after experiencing engine trouble.
She was in her home village on Bali waiting for her future husband and his family to arrive, family members of the bride said.
“We were all very shocked — what was supposed to be a joyful event turned to misery,” father of the bride, Mas’ut, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.
Mr Mas’ut said he heard the news from the groom, Mr Ahmad Yani, himself who called him before he went missing.
Shouted in panic
“He called me and shouted in panic, ‘the boat is sinking!’ and after that the connection was cut off,” he said.
Mr Mas’ut had to inform the sad news to the 2,000 guests invited to the wedding.
“If the groom survived I am ready to marry him with my daughter,” he said.
He added that his daughter had locked herself in the room and refused to eat after hearing the news.
Indonesian rescuers searching the waters near Pulau Raas island on Thursday looking for missing passengers.
The parents of the groom, and other relatives were also on the boat heading to the wedding from their home on the small island of Pulau Raas, off the eastern tip of main Java island.
Rescuers on Thursday pulled out four bodies, but later called off the search due to bad weather, said Mr Asnawi, head of the search operation.
The search to find the 24 people who remain missing, including the groom, will continue again in the morning, he said.
The boat was carrying 52 people, instead of 49 as was previously reported, as more people came forward to the authorities and reported their relatives were also on the boat.
Eight people were rescued on Wednesday, two days after the boat sank, when they were spotted by fishermen floating in the water three km from Pulau Raas.
Source: AFP
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