Search on for 26 missing after boat capsizes off Sulawesi island

MAKASSAR (Indonesia) • Indonesian rescue teams were looking for 26 people missing yesterday after a boat with 43 people on board capsized off Sulawesi island, the search and rescue agency said.

The motorboat had left Paotere port in Makassar, capital of Indonesia's South Sulawesi province, last Thursday at midnight.

It was reported missing the next day when it failed to arrive at its destination, local media reported.

"Seventeen people have been rescued alive by two tugboats that were passing by. We have deployed a rescue team to search for the missing others," said South Sulawesi search and rescue agency chief Djunaidi, who goes by only one name. A group of 40 rescuers were at sea searching for survivors, he added.

The rescued passengers picked up by tugboats were taken to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan and Jeneponto in South Sulawesi.

The authorities said they think the accident was caused by a fuel shortage and bad weather.

"We have confirmation that the boat had sunk in the search area," Mr Djunaidi said.

"We received information saying that 17 people were found and saved by passing tugboats."

Indonesia's weather agency had warned last Thursday of waves up to 2.5m in the Makassar Strait areas that could cause safety risks.

Marine accidents are common in Indonesia, a South-east Asian archipelago of about 17,000 islands where safety standards are often lax. Last week, a ferry carrying more than 800 people ran aground in shallow waters off East Nusa Tenggara province and remained stuck for two days before being dislodged. No one was hurt.

In 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world's deepest lakes on Sumatra island.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE