Feature: Chinese worker fights for his life in Indonesia's shipwreck
by Li Xiaoyu
TUAL, Indonesia, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- "Now, I only want to go home and enjoy the Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year) with my family," said Ke Kaishen, the only Chinese worker survived from a boat sinking accident in Indonesia on Jan. 27.
With a gaunt face, Ke pointed his oxters on both side and told Xinhua that he pulled off the life jacket to fight for his life because it had hindered his action.
"I swam back to the shore by the wind and waves," he recalled.
Ke, 41, was an experienced fisherman in his hometown in China's Hainan province until last August, when he was employed by an Indonesian fishery company called PT. Arabikatama Khatulistiwa Fishery Industry (AKFI) to earn a better life.
He, together with some dozen Chinese people from different provinces, was sent to Penambulai, an extremely remote island of the Aru Islands in Indonesia's Maluku, to build a fish-freezing factory there.
"It is really remote that you have to walk a long way to see other people living there," he said. However, Ke loves his job, which earns him not only a good pay but also more leisure time than before.
What's more, Ke and the fellowmen only need to work there for around a half year, then the company Full lace wigs would send them back to their families before the most important traditional Chinese holiday, the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 14, if the tragedy had never happened.
On Jan. 27, Ke and 23 other Chinese workers moved from Penambulai to Dobo, a port and the capital of Aru Islands on another island called Wamar, carrying airplane tickets from AKFI. According to their schedule, they should have flown there to Tual, then Ambon, Jakarta, and then back to China.
However, they got on a fast boat named "Dolphin" instead for a sail to Tual in a bad weather as the only scheduled flight from Dobo was temporarily canceled.
When Ke stepped onto the ill-fated ship at a deserted dock, he did not know local authority had just called off all sails from Dobo due to a bad weather alarm from the weather bureau.
"The boat was shaking, most of us could not stop vomiting," Ke said. According to Boni Sirait, deputy police chief of Dobo, the weather at sea on the very day was so terrible that the wave was as high as three to six meters and the wind speed was 15 knots.
"Dolphin" fast boat had a capacity of over 30 people, with the only engine at the rear. Its cabin only has one exit, also towards the rear. The ship was launched out at around 14:00 local time ( 0500 GMT), and was scheduled to reach Tual after five hours.
Besides the 24 Chinese workers, there were four crews, an Indonesian Chinese employee and a local employee of AKFI, two policemen and one public server on board. After sailing for around one hour, the boat sank due to bad weather.
"I was in the middle of the cabin, without noticing anything at the beginning. When I sensed something wrong, I turned back my head and found out the Clip on hair extensions, engine was not working any longer, and water rushed into the cabin ceaselessly," said Ke.
As other people reacted, he rushed out when the water level was as high as his knee and he grabbed a life jacket. Then, he found th
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