PORT MORESBY,Febrauary4,2012(AFP): Papua New Guinean authorities Saturday began retrieving the bodies of those killed when an overcrowded ferry sank two days ago in what is thought to be among the nation's worst sea accidents.More than 100 people are still missing from the MV Rabaul Queen, which went down about nine nautical miles off the coast early Thursday. Air and sea search efforts were ongoing despite rough weather."Four bodies have been recovered," PNG's National Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement."The bodies were discovered in locations corresponding to the search area model that rescuers had widened yesterday (Friday)."It appears that the debris and any other persons unaccounted for are now situated almost 50 nautical miles to the southeast of the location where the vessel had capsized."The boat, which was travelling between Kimbe and Lae when it went down, was believed to have more than 360 passengers and crew onboard although an official has said it was licensed to carry 310.The authority said the 246 people rescued in a joint rescue operation with neighbouring Australia were undergoing medical assessment at the Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae, a major coastal gateway with a large university.But as the search effort involving seven fixed wing aircraft, three helicopters and seven boats continued, some families in Lae were still hoping to find their loved ones among the survivors.
