REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUPANG -- Some 200 cows were burned to death when 'Asia Raya Surabaya' vessel which was transporting them from Kupang to Samarinda, East Kalimantan, caught fire in Hansisi waters, Semau Island, Kupang district, NTT, on Friday.
Yemris Fointuna, a relative of the cow owner, said that cows which were still alive were being evacuated from the ship's deck 1 which was filled in with 224 cows.
"We have not yet known the exact number of dead cows. The 200 figure is still an estimate. It can be less than the number or even bigger than that," he said here on Sunday.
The evacuation of the cattle is still carried out, particularly cows who were placed in the lower deck. The cows which were burned were placed in the upper deck.
"We have not yet evacuated the dead cattle in the upper deck," he added.