Indonesia

Ferry sinks with 260 people - scores missing

Article published on the 2009-01-11 Latest update 2009-01-11 15:37 TU

(Photo: Wikipedia)

A ferry carrying more than 260 passengers and crew sank early on Sunday off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, Indonesian officials have said.

The boat was travelling from Pare-Pare in South Sulawesi to Samarinda in East Kalimantan and was hit by a cyclone about 50 kilometres off Western Sulawesi. Authorities lost contact with the vessel at about 2.00 am local time.

"At that stage it was in heavy seas, the crew had reported a storm, waves were up to two metres high and this boat appears to have disappeared without trace," said correspondent John Aglionby from Jakarta.

 

He said "a lot of ferries in this country travel very overloaded" and there were concerns that the 250-capacity boat "might have been carrying significantly more people than it had capacity for".

"Forty tourists had to swim for their lives off the coast of Bali in the last week when their boat capsized," he added.

The Transport Minister, Jusman Syafii Djamal said 150 people are believed to be alive but there remain 100 others who remain lost at sea. The head of the Sea Transport Department, Sunaryo, said however only 18 survivors had been rescued so far.