Dead, Dozens Missing After Indonesia Ferry Sinks

About 80 people are still missing, three are confirmed dead and 39 have been rescued after a ferry accident off the Indonesian province of Sulawesi. Barata added that the choppy waters had forced them to be extra careful in their ongoing search and rescue operations.

According to website ManadoKota.com, the Marina Baru named boat had some 108 to 120 people on board before departing from Kolaka in southeast Sulawesi.

He said officials were checking unconfirmed reports from residents that some of the survivors had washed ashore.

The boat was carrying 110 passengers and 12 crew members, said Asikin.

Asikin said the boat was hit by waves more than 3 meters (10 feet) high during a storm about 21 kilometers (13 miles) southeast of Siwa port in Wajo district, causing it to spring a leak.

Police said the boat was made of fiber glass and was therefore hard to sink.

Alamsyah said the sunken ship was located 22km from the port in the town of Siwa at a depth of about 200m, but inadequate equipment prevented rescue workers from reaching it.

Authorities lost contact with the ferry shortly thereafter, and it failed to arrive at its destination.

On Sunday, fishermen found four people, including a woman and a child wearing life jackets.

“We’re preparing a large ship to search for the ferry because waves are high”, Ridwan said, as reported by tempo.co on Saturday.

A rescue official said yesterday that rescuers were scouring offshore north of Kolaka in case water currents had taken the victims there.

The vast Indonesian archipelago, consisting of more than 17,000 islands, is heavily dependent on ferry services, but the industry has a poor service record and fatal accidents are common.