MICHAEL HOLMES, WORLD NEWS: By water and by air, Indonesia's military is looking for an overcrowded ferry boat which mysteriously disappeared on Thursday. Unsubstantiated rumors about the ferry's fate include a hijacking through to it sinking without a trace. CNN's Brian Nelson reports the search is intensifying.</s>BRIAN NELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Navy planes and ships scour the waters off the Maluku Islands. They are trying to find a ferry that was carrying hundreds of Christian refugees that has been missing for days. Many of the passengers were said to have been fleeing the fighting between Christians and Muslims. And now, the mystery surrounding what happened to the ferry is deepening. The navy says it has found no evidence to substantiate reports that the boat had been hijacked by Muslim fighters. Earlier Saturday, the search was moved to an island off of northern Sulawesi after a customs ship reported a possible sighting. But it proved to be a false alarm, dashing the hopes of hundreds of relatives of the ferry's passengers.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My husband was onboard the ferry, and I fear that he is dead.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): One of my relatives who was injured during recent fighting in Halmahera was on the boat to come to Manado to go to hospital to have his wounds treated.</s>NELSON: The boat lost contact on Thursday after its captain radioed that the ship was taking on water and was trying to navigate through 2.5 meter high seas. The ship was licensed to carry 200 people, but authorities say it had 492 registered passengers onboard. It was presumed to have sunk soon after the distress call. But search teams say that so far they have found no debris or other signs that, in fact, the boat went down. Meanwhile, relatives pack the port in Manado, waiting for word about their loved ones. Many say they will stay there until the fate of the ferry is known. Brian Nelson, CNN.
Indonesia's Military Continues Search For Missing Ferry