At least 15 killed, 19 missing in ferry sinking in Indonesia
24 July, 2023
At least 15 people were killed and 19 more were missing on Monday (Jul 24) after a ferry sank off the coast of Indonesia's Sulawesi island, search and rescue officials said.
The boat sank with 40 people onboard just after midnight local time, the local office of Indonesia's search and rescue agency said in a statement.
Six people were rescued and taken to hospital for treatment, and the cause of the sinking was being investigated, it said.
"All the victims have been identified and handed over to the families while the survivors are now being treated in local hospitals," said Muhamad Arafah from the local branch of the search and rescue agency.
"Provisionally, there are 19 people who are still being searched for," he added. One search team will dive around the accident site, while another will search the water's surface using boats, he said. Photos shared by the rescue agency showed victims' bodies covered in cloth on the floor of the local hospital. The vessel was ferrying people across a bay in Muna island, about 200km south of Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi province.
Marine accidents occur frequently in the Southeast Asian archipelago nation of around 17,000 islands, where people rely on ferries and small boats to travel around despite poor safety standards.
In 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world's deepest lakes on Sumatra island.
In May last year, a ferry carrying more than 800 people ran aground in shallow waters off East Nusa Tenggara province and remained stuck for two days before being dislodged.
No one was hurt in that accident.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com