Panic-stricken passengers on a ferry preparing to dock in Maumere, Indonesia caused scenes of hysteria after word got out that coronavirus carriers were suspected on board.
The deadly virus continues to sweep the globe, causing a rising death toll across all continents in its wake.
Now horrifying footage has emerged of passengers on board the large ship taking the extreme action of hurling themselves overboard, as people were preparing to disembark the vessel.
Passengers swam ashore after authorities sought to block the vessel docking due to fears of suspected coronavirus cases, as tensions rise over the spread of the disease across the archipelago.
Three members of the Lambelu's crew have tested positive for COVID-19, and the vessel's passengers were temporarily held on board while awaiting further test results. The ferry was quarantined off Maumere, Flores Island, and a series of videos posted to social media indicate that some passengers reacted strongly to the news of the delay. After a verbal confrontation between passengers and the crew of a government patrol boat near the ferry, a number of people are seen in the water, wearing life vests and swimming away from the ship.
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"We ask for the passengers to cooperate with health protocols before disembarking from the ship and refrain from any actions that could be harmful,” an Indonesian transport ministry offical told Reuters in a statement.
The ship has now been allowed to berth in Maumere, and passengers are being transferred to a local convention center and to the area regent's official residence. Many of the 238 passengers aboard the Lambelu are migrant workers who are returning from Malaysia, where the largest coronavirus outbreak in Southeast Asia is currently in progress.
22 passengers from the Lambelu were transported by truck to a stadium in the nearby town of Ende. Upon arrival, Indonesian response personnel sprayed each person down with an antiseptic fog, according to local outlet Pos-Kupang.
Over 700 other passengers disembarked during a previous call in the port of Baubau, Sulawesi on March 6, and local officials are monitoring these former passengers for signs of illness. As of Wednesday, no COVID-19 symptoms have been observed among this group, local officials told Pos-Kupang.
