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INDONESIA SHIPWRECK

SHIPWRECK

Two Spanish shipwreck victims still missing

Indonesian authorities are continuing to search for two Spanish citizens, including a 43-year-old from Seville, the only people still missing after a tourist boat carrying 25 people in the country's waters sank on Sunday.

Two Spanish shipwreck victims still missing
Survivors of the shipwreck rest at a house near to the Indonesian town of Bima on August 17th. Photo: Andy Amaldan/AFP

"The two Spaniards are still missing. We are continuing the search with the army, police and rescue services involved," Indonesia's national disaster agency said on Thursday.

The vessel was carrying 25 people between the Indonesian islands of Lombok and Komodo, famous for its giant lizard species — the Komodo dragon.

Fifteen out of the 25 passengers on board were tourists from Germany,England, New Zealand, Holland, France and Spain. The other ten were Indonesian citizens.

Two Spaniards were rescued from the vessel with one of the survivors telling Spanish daily ABC how they managed to overcome cold, hunger, cramps, exhaustion and jellyfish before being rescued.

It was one of those survivors who said first said two other Spanish people were on board the tourist vessel.

Spain's foreign ministry have now confirmed one of those was Víctor García Montes, a 43-year-old solicitor from Seville, according to Spanish national daily El Mundo.

The other passenger's name has only been given as Jorge.

Some of the survivors said the pair had jumped into the water in an attempt to swim to a nearby island. The two men have not been seen since.

Several of family members of Montes have now gone to Indonesia to assist in search efforts, El Mundo reported.

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SHIPWRECK

Divers find 18th-century Danish warship

Divers in Denmark have located a warship that sank near the island of Læsø 238 years ago.

Divers find 18th-century Danish warship
Parts of of the wreckage under the sea near Læsø. Photo: HANDOUT/Undervandsgruppen.dk/Ritzau Scanpix

The 52-metre, 70-cannon Printz Friederich went down with almost 500 men on board during a storm on September 30th, 1780.

A diving team named Undervandsgruppen (The Underwater Group) has worked to locate the wreck for over ten years.

“We’ve sailed 2,500 nautical miles and combed 100 square kilometres of seabed. We were ready to give up because we thought we weren’t going to find it,” the team’s leader Kim Schmidt told Ritzau.

“This ship was overlooked a little. After 1781, no one gave it a second thought,” Schmidt said.

Divers from the group have recovered a number of objects from the shipwreck, including a lead plate with a royal crown and some lead cannon balls.

Authorities will now decide whether to recover more objects from the sunken ship.

Almost all of the ship’s 500-strong crew were rescued after it ran aground and sank. Between 6-8 men are thought to have died.

“The sinking was a complete disaster for the Danish navy, since the ship constituted one fifth of the fleet,” Schmidt said.

The ship was engaged in a mission when it ran aground in stormy weather.

“The captain was taken ill and the first mate was in charge. The ship was blown completely off course, and they had no idea where they were. They could not see landmarks or stars to navigate by,” Schmidt said.

But boats sent from the nearby island of Læso were able to save the majority of the people on board after the ship went down.

“It was quite turbulent for the people of Læsø. They had to find food and shelter for 500 people. Many were given lodgings with single women, and that resulted in a lot of descendents (from the crew),” the diving team leader said.

The story of the Printz Friederich shipwreck is to be featured at Læsø Museum, Ritzau writes.

READ ALSO: Wreckage of German WW2 ship found in seas north of Denmark