Indonesia Boat Disaster: 1 Dead, 24 Missing After Engine Failure Sinks Vessel
A passenger boat sank off the coast of an Indonesian island on Thursday, resulting in at least one fatality and leaving 24 people missing, according to the local search and rescue agency.
The vessel suffered an engine failure while sailing near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi, said Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of the local search and rescue agency. The crew was unable to repair the engine, prompting the skipper to request evacuation from authorities.
Rescuers reached the site on Thursday to find the boat already partially submerged. Forty-nine people were rescued, one woman was found dead, and search efforts are ongoing for the 24 missing individuals, Mr. Arif stated.
The boat's manifest initially listed 50 passengers, but further verification revealed that 74 people were actually on board. Discrepancies between passenger manifests and actual numbers are common in Indonesia, according to officials.
An Indonesian Navy vessel has been deployed to assist with the search, which is expected to continue into the night. Marine accidents are frequent in the Southeast Asian archipelago, often due to lax safety standards and adverse weather conditions.
In January, three Spanish tourists died when their boat sank off eastern Indonesia, and a 10-year-old boy was listed as officially missing after authorities ended the search.
