Passengers Jump Overboard After Ferry Is Blocked Over Coronavirus Fears

Dramatic footage shows mass panic on a ferry as passengers threw themselves overboard after the vessel was blocked from docking over coronavirus fears.

The Indonesian ferry was travelling via Borneo to the island of Sulawesi, but when it arrived at the port in Maumere in the eastern island of Flores, it was refused permission to dock after it reported that three crew members had symptoms consistent with coronavirus.

After the 255 passengers on board the KM Lambelu were told about the decision, five decided to hurl themselves over board and attempt to swim to land.

Their attempts were unsurprisingly unsuccessful though, with rescuers picking them up and confirming that none of them had sustained injuries.

The ship was later allowed to dock and medical staff in full hazmat gear climbed aboard the vessel and carried out tests on passengers and crew, before they were moved to quarantine on land.

Those currently quarantined have been told they will have to wait a week before the test results can be provided. The three crew members had reportedly tested positive for coronavirus on an unreliable rapid test kit and were subjected to a more accurate examination, the results of which are not yet available.

There are currently 3,293 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Indonesia, with 280 people dying in the country after testing positive for the virus. However, a study Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases estimates that as few as two percent of the country's cases have been reported due to a lack of testing.

There are fears the nation could be badly hit by the disease having been late to close its borders. What's more, it is challenging for the country to implement and enforce social distancing measures across its 17,000 plus islands and islets, and there are fears the healthcare system will not be able to cope in remote areas.

On average, there is just one hospital bed per 1,000 people and one doctor per 10,000 people in Indonesia, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

It's okay to not panic. LADbible and UNILAD's aim with our Coronavirus campaign, Cutting Through, is to provide our community with facts and stories from the people who are either qualified to comment or have experienced first-hand the situation we're facing. For more information from the World Health Organisation on Coronavirus, click here.

Topics: indonesia, Coronavirus

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey