2023-07-24 03:53:41
Indonesia
15 dead and 19 missing in the sinking of an Indonesian ferry
A ferry sank off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi with 40 people on board on Sunday. There are at least 15 dead.
Posted24 July 2023, 05:53
In Indonesia, it is common for the actual number of passengers on a ship to differ from the ship’s log.
At least 15 people were killed and 19 others are missing on Monday following a ferry sank off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, search and rescue officials said.
The boat sank with 40 people on board just following midnight local time (7 p.m. Swiss time on Sunday), the local office of the Indonesian search and rescue agency said in a statement. Six people were rescued and taken to hospital for treatment, while the causes of the sinking are being investigated.
“As of now, 19 people are still wanted,” Muhamad Arafah, head of the local search and rescue agency in Kendari city, southeast Sulawesi, said in a statement. “The research will be carried out in two teams. The first team will dive around the accident site,” he said, “the second team will sweep the surface of the water around the accident site in an inflatable boat and a rowboat”.
Frequent accidents
In Indonesia, it is common for the actual number of passengers on a ship to differ from the ship’s log. Maritime accidents are frequent in this Southeast Asian archipelago made up of around 17,000 islands, where residents use ferries and small boats to get around despite insufficient safety standards.
In 2018, more than 150 people drowned in the sinking of a ferry sailing on one of the deepest lakes in the world, in Sumatra. In May last year, a ferry carrying more than 800 people ran aground in shallow waters off East Nusa Tenggara province and was stranded for two days before being refloated. No one was injured in this accident.
(AFP)
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