Hundreds rescued as Papua New Guinea ferry sinks

PORT MORESBY: More than 200 people were plucked from waters off Papua New Guinea Thursday after a ferry sank but many others remained missing, with rescuers scouring the area for further survivors.

Operator Star Ships said it lost contact with the MV Rabaul Queen at about 6am on Thursday (2000 GMT Wednesday) while it was travelling between Kimbe and Lae in the east of the Pacific nation, blaming "bad weather" for the disaster.

The PNG National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) said it was first alerted by a distress signal early Thursday and confirmed that "the vessel has sunk and passengers are in the waters awaiting rescue".

Rescue co-ordinator Captain Nurur Rahman said more than 300 people were on board the vessel but it was too early to say why the ferry went down, refusing to speculate on whether the ship was overloaded.

"Our priority at the moment is to save lives, but it is an unusual occurrence," he told.

"We've had a few cargo ship mishaps before, but never a ferry."

He said weather conditions were manageable, helping the rescue operation. (AFP)