Jakarta, May 30, 2022 (AFP) – Authorities said on Monday 11 people were missing and 31 were rescued as a ferry ran out of fuel and capsized off Indonesia.
Local tugs and fishermen rescued most of the passengers from KM Ladang Pertiwi, which was crossing the Makassar Strait in South Sulawesi state, on Thursday.
“So far, 31 people have been rescued alive and the search for 11 more missing people is ongoing,” local rescue team coordinator Djunaidi, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, told AFP.
“They have now returned home and are doing well in general,” he added of the survivors.
Djunaidi said emergency crews used a helicopter to increase the search range from the wreckage area to 20 nautical miles and are trying to find the missing persons.
The ship was not allowed to carry passengers. The captain and owner of the ferry were questioned by the police.
There was also no passenger train, but officials estimate it was carrying 42 people at the time of the crash.
Marine accidents are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where safety standards are not always followed.
In May, a ferry with more than 800 people on board ran aground off East Nusa Tenggara province and was stranded for two days without causing any casualties.
More than 150 people drowned when a ferry capsized in a lake on the island of Sumatra in 2018.
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source: Noticias
