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29 March 2024

Over 100 missing after boat sinks

Published
By AP

At least four survivors were pulled from choppy waters in central Indonesia on Sunday as high waves and bad weather hampered attempts to reach a sinking passenger boat with more than 120 people aboard, officials said.

Fishermen found four people, including a woman and a child wearing life jackets early Sunday. They told authorities that their boat sank hours after being hit by high waves.

The fiberglass boat was on its way from Kolaka to Siwa, towns on Sulawesi island, carrying 110 passengers and 12 crew members when it was buffeted by waves Saturday afternoon, said Roki Asikin, head of the search and rescue agency in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi. The passengers included 14 children.

Asikin said the boat was hit by waves more than 3 meters high during a storm about 21 kilometers southeast of Siwa port in Wajo district, causing it to spring a leak.

Six rescue boats and ships were sent from Kendari and Makassar after they received a distress call from the crew who reported that water was starting to enter the vessel, Asikin said.

Television footage showed dozens of family members anxiously waiting for their loved ones at the Siwa port on Sunday.

Indonesian boat accidents have killed hundreds of people in recent years. Boats are often overcrowded and safety regulations are poorly enforced. The vast country spans more than 17,000 islands with a population of 250 million, and boats are a popular and relatively cheap form of transportation.