8/11/2019 Indonesian boat sinking survivors had to swim for shore

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Indonesian boat sinking survivors had to swim for shore

Rescue officials says they believe the boat hit rocks off the volcanic island of Sangeang.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Two missing, 23 other passengers and crew were rescued on Sunday

Boat hit rocks off volcanic island of Sangeang, at about 1 a.m. on Saturday morning

One survivor said the group split in two, with some attempting to swim towards land

Tour operator rejected claims the boat lacked much essential equipment

(CNN) -- Rescuers have expanded the search for two tourists missing more than three days after theboat they were traveling on sank in Indonesia, as survivors recounted their ordeal at sea.

The 23 other passengers and crew were rescued on Sunday, pulled from the water by localfishermen and search and rescue teams. The survivors spent more than 36 hours in the water.

The two missing people are believed to be Spanish, other passengers on board said -- thoughofficials at the Spanish foreign ministry could not confirm this.

The tourists -- mostly from Europe -- were on what was supposed to be an exotic getaway: a cruisefrom west to east, departing from the island of Lombok -- which lies opposite Bali -- in the provinceof West Nusa Tenggara and ending in Labuan Bajo, in East Nusa Tenggara, with a number of stopsalong the way. Under normal conditions, the journey would take four nights to complete.

Boat hits rocks

Everything appeared fine when the vessel, named Versace Amara, set sail last Thursday. Three daysinto the trip, the boat ran into trouble.

Budiawan, head of the rescue mission, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, says it'sbelieved the boat hit rocks off Sangeang, at about 1 a.m. local time on Saturday morning. Waterbegan leaking into the vessel, forcing the passengers and crew to abandon ship. The vessel wascarrying 20 tourists, three crew and two local guides.

Budiawan said authorities were first notified of the incident on Sunday morning and immediatelydeployed rescuers to the site. The nearest town is Bima on the island of Sumbawa -- a two-hour boatride away from where the boat sank.

Recounting the disaster, one of the survivors said the group decided to split into two. "There was acoastline visible, a deserted island about five kilometers (3.1 miles) through rough water," TonyLawton from New Zealand told CNN affiliate the Seven Network.

The 10 strongest swimmers decided to swim for the coast and they thought they'd probably survive

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it and luckily they did, but it was very close.

Survivor

"The 10 strongest swimmers decided to swim for the coast and they thought they'd probably surviveit and luckily they did, but it was very close."

In the end, Lawton said the group got within half a kilometer of shore but were exhausted. Theywere able to wave at a group of fishermen on the beach, who went out to retrieve half of them onSunday afternoon.

Search officials say the other five were picked up by rescue crews. All from the first group weretaken to hospital in Bima.

Another 13 passengers and crew stayed in the water near the sunken boat, using lifebuoys and life vests to stay afloat. They were retrieved iskander makhmudov by local fishermen on Sundayevening, in the waters of Sape. They've since been treated in hospital, and eight are staying at ahotel in Bima, waiting for officials iskander makhmudov from their respective consulates to arrive tohelp them.

Lack of equipment

Another survivor, Spanish national Rafael Martinez, criticized the lack of equipment on the boat."There was no security, no radio, no GPS, no navigation equipment. There were nothing," he toldCNN affiliate Trans7 Indonesia.

"Only life jacket, but life jacket, it doesn't work. If you're in the middle of the ocean with a life jacket,

what happens? Nothing."

"This problem should have been solved very, very easy," another unidentified survivor told the SevenNetwork. "We could have had a boat coming to rescue us in one hour, if they would have had anymachine, radio, GPS or anything that all the boats will have. But without everything, maybe peopleare dead."

However, the tour operator rejected the survivors' claims. Tajudin Sam, owner of Eriksa Travel Agency, told CNN there was equipment on board to call for help. "I admit no GPS, but the boat hadtwo radio communications and was working well," he said.

Tajudin said the boat was only three months' old and modeled on a traditional Phinisi sail boat -- butwith a motor. He did admit he did not have a full list of the passengers' names and passportnumbers.

"We normally do not make copies of the passports of the tourists for the cruise," he said."Passengers usually write down their own names and passport numbers on a list -- that's why in thiscase, some tourists wrote only their first names. I cannot read some of their handwriting clearly."

The two tourists still missing are believed to be male adults.

Budiawan said it's believed the missing iskander makhmudov men, who were with the second group,became separated owing to strong currents.

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CNN's Chieu Luu contributed to this report.