JAKARTA, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers retrieved three more bodies on Tuesday after a ship caught fire in the waters off Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province a day earlier, bringing the casualties of the incident to 17 people with at least five others still missing.
"Today we recovered the bodies of one child, one man and one woman," Saidar Rahmanjaya, head of the operation unit of the provincial search and rescue office, told Xinhua over the phone.
All the three bodies were found without wearing life jackets and far from the scene, the rescuer said. A total of 312 people aboard the ill-fated vessel were rescued safely.
He said the search and rescue operation would resume on Wednesday, adding that five people were reported missing by their relatives on Tuesday, who haven't been located yet.
Unfavorable weather conditions hampered the operation for the victims on Tuesday, forcing the rescuers to temporarily halt the mission, according to Rahmanjaya.
"Today, the weather conditions at the scene are bad with huge waves, strong winds and poor visibility," he said.
A fire broke out on the passenger ship, Shantika Lestari, in the waters off Kupang city, the capital of the East Nusa Tenggara province on Monday.
The ship, which departed from a seaport in Kupang city, was heading to the Alor district of the province. ■
