Ferry Carrying 350 People Sinks off Papua New Guinea

February 02, 2012 from Euronews

A ferry carrying around 350 people has sunk off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Australia's Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says a huge rescue operation has saved over 200 so far, and is still ongoing. It's reported that the Rabaul Queen, a 155ft ship, sank quickly 10 miles from the country's north coast, and didn't give a distress signal. Any survivors are being plucked from the water. Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said the cause of the disaster remains a mystery.

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Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea, officially named the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands. It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region described since the earl... Explore this topic

Ferry

A ferry is a boat or ship used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, is sometimes called a water bus or ... Explore this topic

Peter O'Neill

Peter Charles Paire O'Neill, CMG is the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. He is the leader of the People's National Congress and represents the constituency of Ialibu-Pangia. He was sworn in on 4 August 2012 as the ninth Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. Explore this topic

Rabaul

Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres in... Explore this topic

Maritime disaster

A maritime disaster is an event which usually involves a ship or ships and can involve military action. Due to the nature of maritime travel, there is often a large loss of life. The sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912 with 1,523 fatalities, is probably the most famous shipwreck bu... Explore this topic

Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Australian Maritime Safety Authority is responsible, on behalf of the Commonwealth Government of Australia, for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. AMSA is funded largely through le... Explore this topic

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountai... Explore this topic

Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, is Papua New Guinea's head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National Parliament. Amidst the 2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis, the office was disputed be... Explore this topic

Distress signal

A distress signal is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals take the form of or are commonly made by using radio signals, displaying a visually detected item or illumination, or making an audible sound, from a distance. A distress signal indic... Explore this topic

Euronews

Euronews is a European, multilingual news television channel, headquartered in Lyon-Écully, France. Created in 1993, it claims to be covering world news from a Pan-European perspective. Explore this topic

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